Northern Regional Police filed felony gun charges against a Pine man after they say he showed up at a hospital suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
James Brady Thompson, 48, of the 100 block of Fieldview Drive, was charged with two counts of illegal possession of a firearm in connection with the shooting incident at his home, according to a criminal complaint.
A preliminary hearing on the charges has not yet been scheduled before District Judge William Wagner because Thompson is still in the hospital recovering from his injury, according to police Chief John Sicilia.
Thompson was charged after officers responded to UPMC Passavant Hospital in McCandless on Nov. 18 after medical staff reported a man in the emergency room suffering from a gunshot wound, police said.
Thompson told police that he was in his garage when he remembered leaving a “pistol-style AR” firearm laying around that he wanted to put in another part of the house.
The gun went off and he was hit in the calf by a round as he tried to turn the light switch off in the garage while carrying the weapon, according to the complaint.
He told police that his girlfriend drove him to the hospital for treatment.
Northern Regional Police noted in Thompson’s arrest papers that he is not permitted to have a gun because he was previously convicted of a felony for carrying a firearm without a license.
Court records show that Northern Regional Police filed multiple charges of carrying a firearm illegally and other gun-related counts in October 2019.
He pleaded guilty to the charges in September and was sentenced to two years probation, according to court records.
Thompson’s probation officer and Northern Regional police said they went to Thompson’s house and got written permission from his girlfriend to search the residence, the complaint said.
In addition to the AR pistol that Thompson discharged, police found a number of gun parts and loaded ammunition magazines in various parts of the house that were confiscated.
The federal bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives also has been notified about the case to determine if additional investigation is warranted, Sicilia said.
