A Bellefontaine man was found guilty Tuesday in Logan County Common Pleas Court on charges arising from a confrontation with his son-in-law at a Belle Center residence.
James A. Blackburn, 74, was convicted on charges including having weapons while under disability, a felony of the third degree; felonious assault, a second-degree felony; improperly discharging a firearm at or into a habitation, a third-degree felony, and using weapons while intoxicated, a misdemeanor of the first degree. The jury also found against Blackburn on a pair of 3-year gun specifications.
During the trial, Logan County County Prosecutor Eric Stewart presented evidence Blackburn was living in a camper behind the home of his daughter and sonin- law in Belle Center. In the afternoon and evening of Nov. 23, 2020, Blackburn consumed nearly a bottle of Seagram 7.
At 10:02 PM, he invited his son-in-law, Jeff Whatley, to the camper for a beer. Upon entering the camper, Whatley saw Blackburn had two guns on the table and Blackburn told Whatley, “We are going to have heartto- heart.” Whatley fled the camper and Blackburn fired a shot from a .32 caliber revolver. Blackburn subsequently fired several more shots into the home. The Logan County Sheriff’s Office recovered four bullets inside the home. Nobody was injured in the incident.
The Court ordered Blackburn be held in the Logan County Jail and set a sentencing hearing for May 19.