PREBLE COUNTY — A Dayton man has been arrested on a preliminary charge of attempted murder for allegedly attacking two people, including his 88-year-old great-uncle in Preble County last Thursday.
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Deputies found the victim beaten and bleeding with several bruises on Aug. 23 inside a home in the 8700 block of Germantown Road, south of West Alexandria, according to court documents.
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The victim told deputies his great-nephew, identified as Jeffery R. Hardin Jr., 28, was responsible for the attack. Court documents said Hardin used his girlfriend’s SUV to ram the garage of the home to force his way inside before attacking the man. Court documents allege Hardin said several times during the attack he was going to kill the victim.
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Hardin left the home and claimed again he was going to return and kill his great-uncle, according to court documents.
Deputies said in the documents it was unknown if the victim would survive his injuries. However, the victim is still listed as a patient at Miami Valley Hospital in serious condition, according to a hospital spokesperson.
Hardin, who deputies said was intoxicated at the time, then took the SUV to a house about a mile away on East Factory Road. Hardin asked the resident there if he had a tire for the vehicle.
When the resident said he couldn’t help Hardin, deputies said he punched the man in the face, pulled a gun from the victim’s holster, fired two shots into the ground, and threw the gun back toward the victim.
Details of Hardin’s arrest were not mentioned in court documents. However, jail records indicate he was arrested at the East Factory Road home.
Hardin is facing charges of attempted murder, felonious assault, assault, aggravated burglary, OVI, using weapons while intoxicated, and vandalism.
He was booked into the Preble County Jail.
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