A confrontation Saturday morning left two Adair County men with life-threatening injuries and a third man arrested on assault charges.
Details about how the incident began are still unraveling but it appears that before it was over, Mark Shawn Hatcher, 48, was shot in the head, and both Hatcher and Will Feese, 23, were hit by an automobile.
A call originally came in to 911 dispatch around 7:36 a.m. Saturday that an auto collision had occurred in the 2601/2723 area of Fairplay Road and that one man had been shot and another run over.
As emergency services headed to the scene, they called for two helicopters to report to T.J. Health Columbia. When law enforcement arrived on the scene, they identified the suspect as Gregory Jarrod Willis, 50.
Willis had fled the scene. Sheriff Josh Brockman requested assistance from Kentucky State Police and asked Emergency Management Director Mike Keltner to provide a drone. Throughout the next few hours, various emergency services provided four drones and KSP provided two helicopters for the manhunt.
Around 1:56 p.m., Willis surrendered to KSP officers on Paul Frankum Rd. After being arrested and taken to the Adair County Regional Jail, it was determined that Willis had been shot in the foot and received medical treatment.
Victim describes harrowing incident
A KSP report issued Saturday afternoon states that Hatcher and Feese were injured in the automobile accident. Family members of the victims, however, say there is much more to the story.
Feese works for Hatcher at Hatcher Construction and the two men were headed to a job site when the incident occurred. While Feese was seriously injured, he remained conscious throughout the incident and has relayed details of what happened to his family.
His father, Craig Feese, spoke with the Community Voice about his son’s harrowing experience.
Will told his family that the incident happened after Willis backed out of his driveway in front of them, then headed toward Hatcher’s vehicle and sideswiped it.
The vehicles stopped and Hatcher stepped out of his vehicle. He started walking toward Willis’ vehicle and Willis shot him.
“He shot Shawn when he was still sitting inside the vehicle,” Craig said. “After he shot him, Shawn kind of fell backward and (Willis) knocked him down with the truck the first time.”
Willis continued to try to hit Hatcher with his vehicle, Craig said.
“He tried to run over (Hatcher) before Will ever got out of the vehicle, but Shawn dodged him,” Craig said.
Willis pulled away from the scene and Feese exited the vehicle to try to help Shawn. He was trying to get Shawn into the passenger seat when Willis turned and drove back, this time hitting Shawn a second time and also hitting Feese.
“He hit Shawn the first time after he shot him, then he ran over him the second time when Will was with him.”
Hatcher was flown to University of Kentucky in Lexington and Feese was flown to University of Louisville, both facing serious, life-threatening injuries.
Family members reported that Hatcher has traumatic brain injury, multiple facial fractures and lacerations, broken ribs and a broken hand. Doctors were still attempting to stabilize him at presstime.
Feese underwent pelvic surgery Saturday evening where rods were placed in his pelvis and an exterior halo was placed to help restore stability. His father said he sustained multiple extensive injuries throughout his right side, including broken ribs, broken collar bone and a collapsed lung. Once a chest tube is removed, he will be moved to a rehabilitation facility where he will stay for several weeks. He must remain non-weight bearing for at least six weeks. Feese also has a large laceration that will be treated and monitored to prevent infection.
Willis has been charged with two counts of assault, 1st degree and is being held on a $500,000 cash bond at the Adair County Regional Jail. A preliminary hearing is set for Monday at 10 a.m. in Adair District Court.
The Hatchers are self-employed and will have no income during his recovery. Friends have provided his wife, Misty’s venmo account information if anyone would like to provide financial assistance. It is @Misty-Hatcher-1.
By Sharon Burton
snburton@adairvoice.com
