Lane Dodson

MARSHALL COUNTY —A Marshall County man charged with attempted murder learned his fate in court yesterday, Dec. 2.

Lane Dodson was found guilty on four of five counts, including intimidation and attempted murder of a police officer.

These charges date back nearly two years from a routine traffic stop in December 2014.

Things quickly took a violent turn, when police say Dodson pointed a gun at officers and pulled the trigger, at least twice according to evidence.

Police fired back, injuring Dodson, who has since recovered, and who could now be serving decades behind bars.

On Dec. 29, 2014, Lane Dodson was pulled over in a Kmart parking lot.

Within seconds of officers asking him to step out of the vehicle, shots were fired. Dodson was hit in his right hand, right shoulder, back, and neck. He underwent multiple surgeries and relied on feeding and tracheostomy tubes.

According to police, Dodson was pulled over for questioning related to a battery call in which he was allegedly involved.

Back in March, Dodson spoke to NewsCenter 16’s Maria Catanzarite, and said he denies ever pulling the trigger.

Did you raise a handgun? “No,” said Dodson.

Did you shoot at officers? “No,” said Dodson.

State prosecutors argue that he did, and say there is evidence to support it.

“The evidence was clear that he did. There’s a bullet hole out of the windshield toward the officer, and the gun expert confirmed there were two shell casings, and there was a shot through the roof of the vehicle. Defense had a tough job in this case, but the truth prevailed,” said Nelson Chipman, Marshall County prosecutor.

Dodson’s family declined to comment Friday, along with his attorney, Marc Morrison.

In Morrison’ closing statement, he argued to the jury that the shell casings found in Dodson’s van matching his firearm could have been weeks or months old.

Prosecutor Chipman says Dodson’s conduct and the evidence in this case justified a conviction.

“One of the witnesses we had was someone who worked at Kmart and came out for a break, and two years later, she’s crying on the witness stand because of the effect it had on her in watching this…and she’s still scared,” said Chipman.

Friday, the jury sided with the state.

“It was relief,” said Chipman.

After roughly an hour and a half of deliberating, the jury returned a unanimous verdict of ‘guilty’ of attempted murder, intimidation, and two counts of domestic battery.

Both domestic battery charges were from incidents that occurred between Dodson and his ex-wife just days before the traffic stop.

The fifth charge against him – battery with moderate bodily injury – stemmed from a fight with a Plymouth man, which also took place that same week.

Dodson’s attorney argued self-defense for this fifth count, and the jury found Dodson not guilty for this count alone.

Dodson is scheduled to be sentenced on Jan. 25, 2017.

Prosecutor Chipman said the attempted murder charge carries the most weight, with a maximum 60-year sentence; however, all said and done, he estimated Dodson to be sentenced roughly 65 years behind bars.

Source: WNDU