WEST VIRGINIA MAN STRIKES OFFICE AND THEN HITS HOUSE

A Paw Paw man remained jailed Friday, accused in an escape attempt in which shots were fired, a car hit a house and two police officers were dragged 25 feet by a car. James R. Spencer, 50, turned himself in to police on Thursday to face two counts of malicious assault on a police officer.

Morgan County Sheriff’s Deputy C.H. Cobern and Paw Paw Police Chief Brian Sites suffered cuts and scrapes on their legs after being dragged more than 25 feet by a fleeing Chevrolet Monte Carlo around 10 p.m. Wednesday. The two officers said they approached Spencer after seeing him toss a suspicious item into a car in Paw Paw. As they were patting him down, they said, Spencer shoved them backward, jumped into his car and drove in reverse, dragging both officers.

After Sites was thrown from the car, he fired three shots, but hit no one. Police said the suspect then drove through a six-foot fence and struck the corner of a house before escaping. Following an extensive search that included the Maryland State Police Medevac helicopter, police found the Monte Carlo at Spencer’s home. Spencer was not there, but he later made arrangements through his sister in Hagerstown, Md., to surrender. Spencer was being held Friday at the Eastern Regional jail in lieu of $10,000 bond.