The Emporia man who allegedly fired two guns while walking along Kansas Highway 99 this past weekend has now been formally charged in connection to the incident.
Eric Hooper, 38, was charged Tuesday with one count of criminal discharge of a firearm on a public road or right-of-way. He also now faces a single count of battery of a law enforcement officer.
Court documents provided to KVOE News say deputies were called out to the 1200 block of North Highway 99 Saturday evening after a man was reportedly walking down the road carrying a firearm. As they responded, a second report had the man standing on a bridge that spans the Kansas Turnpike in the 1100 block of Highway 99. He had also reportedly shot a rifle before authorities arrived.
According to the affidavit, deputies located a rifle and a handgun with spent casings nearby. Hooper also said he fired a gun to get somebody’s attention to help him. Shortly afterward, he allegedly tried to pull away from deputies and later began hitting his head on the pavement several times before allegedly biting a deputy.
Hooper had his first appearance in Lyon County District Court on Tuesday. He is now set for a pretrial conference Sept. 24.
