ROCKINGHAM — Businessman Timothy “Tim” Lee Hayden, accused of shooting two Ellerbe firefighters last September, is behind bars after a judge revoked his bond.
He had been out of jail on bond five months ago.
Court records show Assistant District Attorney Alexandria Harris filed a motion to revoke the bond on Feb. 17 after Hayden missed two breath tests on Jan. 14 and Feb. 9 at 9 a.m. to check his blood alcohol level. Superior Court Judge Alicia Marks Flowers revoked Hayden’s bond Wednesday, March 4.
As a condition of his release, Hayden had to abstain from alcohol, be monitored by an ankle device that alerts authorities if he drinks, surrender his passport, avoid contact with the victims, and stay at least 15 yards away from firearms.
Records show that on Dec. 4, Superior Court Judge James Hill switched Hayden to a portable breathalyzer after he was reported to have an “adverse” reaction.
Hayden is accused of firing multiple rounds from an AR-15-style rifle at Jeremy Scott and Jerry Shepard on Sept. 1 before 3:30 a.m. Scott and Shepard were responding to a fire alarm at Hayden’s Green Lake Road home, and Shepard was shot in the leg.
According to Hayden’s attorney, Jason Deane, he claims that his client had no intention of harming first responders. He said Hayden, intoxicated after returning home around 3 a.m., accidentally set off his fire alarm and did not recognize the fire truck’s lights, “firing warning shots at the ground instead.”
The town of Ellerbe hosted an event honoring Scott and Shepard’s bravery on Sept. 6.
Hayden was initially charged with two counts of assault on emergency personnel with a firearm, and one count each of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill, inflicting serious injury; assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill; and resisting a public officer. On Sept. 15, Hayden was indicted on two counts of assault on emergency personnel with a firearm and the charge of assault with a deadly weapon with intent to kill inflicting serious injury. On Sept. 22, he was indicted on two counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Court records show Hayden had a hearing scheduled for April 6, but that date has been modified to “cancelled.”