SPRINGVALE –– A former Army Ranger who allegedly fired an assault rifle numerous times and was arrested after a standoff was ordered held without bail Monday at the York County Jail.
Judge Richard Mulhern ruled that Robert W. Ferrera III should be held without bail because he violated conditions from previous charges, including criminal mischief and violating probation from July 2014 and carrying a concealed weapon from February 2013.
Ferrera, who was arraigned by videoconference in District Court in Springvale, was charged Monday with reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon as a result of the incident at the family farm in Shapleigh on Sunday.
Court documents filed Monday also indicated that Ferrera “did recklessly create a substantial risk of serious bodily injury to Robert W. Ferrera Jr. with the use of a firearm against the person of Robert W. Ferrera Jr.”
Robert W. Ferrera Jr. is Ferrera’s father.
No one was hurt in the incident, but the York County Sheriff’s Office reported that at Ferrera’s home on Oak Hill Road in Shapleigh, Ferrera, 26, had shot an AK-47 assault rifle at least 18 times. Sheriff William King Jr. said that Ferrera is a veteran who served with the Army Rangers – an elite fighting force – in Afghanistan a few years ago.
Ferrera lives on the family farm, which was once used to raise alpacas, according to the sheriff’s office. Ferrera was apparently upset over his living conditions, King said Sunday.
When the shooting started, a family member fled and called police. Deputies arrived about 4:30 p.m. Sunday, set up a perimeter and monitored Ferrera’s movements.
Ferrera left the home about an hour later and started walking toward a tree line, when he was confronted by deputies and arrested. Ferrera was unarmed at the time.
King said authorities are looking into whether post-traumatic stress disorder from Ferrera’s service in the military was a factor in the incident.
Ferrera did not enter a plea Monday, as the case is being transferred to York County Superior Court.
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