A Perry man faces a charge of attempted murder in the Tuesday morning incident that left Perry Police Chief Eric Vaughn with a gunshot wound to his upper thigh.
Vaughn is being treated for the injury in a Des Moines hospital and is expected to be released Wednesday, according to Perry Police Department Sgt. Jim Archer, who spoke at a press conference Tuesday morning at the scene near Eighth and Paul streets in Perry.
Jeremiah Matthew Messner, 30, of 1319 W. Second St., Perry, has been charged with attempted murder. Additional charges are pending an investigation by the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), according to DCI Special Agent in Charge Adam DeCamp.
The incident began when the Perry Police Department received a report about 4:45 a.m. Tuesday of shots fired in the 1800 block of Fourth Street in Perry.
Officers determined that Messner allegedly shot out the back window of a vacant vehicle, and they spent several hours negotiating with Messner in a “rolling standoff” along the Raccoon River Valley Trail in Perry, according to Dallas County Chief Deputy Sheriff Adam Infante.
When Messner put down his firearm, officers moved in to detain him, but Messner was able to retrieve the handgun, and he allegedly shot Vaughn during the ensuing struggle.
Messner was eventually detained after Dallas County Deputy Sheriffs used multiple Tasers.
Messner is held in the Dallas County Jail in advance of an initial appearance in Dallas County District Court.
Messner was convicted of two counts of first-degree harassment in 2020 in Dallas County District Court. He was convicted of interference with official acts in 2020 in Dallas County District Court.
*A criminal charge is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
