Whitley man fires gun at home, then captured in woods, police say

A Williamsburg man is behind bars after allegedly shooting at a trailer where his mother, sister, and niece were, and then leading police on a chase through the woods while firing a shotgun in their direction Sunday afternoon.
Whitley County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Prewitt charged Gregory L. Vogel, 42, of 3084 Tackett Creek Road, with two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment, including one count of wanton endangerment of a police officer, two counts of resisting arrest, third-degree assault, and for three counts of fourth-degree assault.
Judge Dan Ballou entered a not guilty plea on Vogel’s behalf during his arraignment Monday afternoon in district court, and scheduled a Nov. 14 preliminary hearing in the case.
Kentucky State Police Trooper Scott Bunch, who was one of the first officers to arrive at the scene, said he and Trooper Mike Witt were conducting a road check on Doc Siler Road when they received a 911 call that Vogel was fighting with his family, had pushed his mother down, had hit his sister, and hit a six-year-old with a stick.
“He stated that he was going to go back, and get a gun and shoot them,” Bunch said. “They called 911. Before we got there, he apparently came back with a shotgun, and shot some of the house up before running into the woods.”
Sheriff’s deputies Brandon Prewitt, Scott Lake, Jeremiah Morgan, and Allen Onkst along with Williamsburg Police Officer Brad Nighbert also responded to the scene.
Bunch said he, Witt and the deputies all went into the woods after Vogel.
The deputies went one direction and Witt and Bunch went another.
Prewitt noted on the arrest citation that even after deputies identified themselves, Vogel continued to fire in their direction as he fled from police.
As deputies chased Vogel following the sound of gunshots and a trail of spent shotgun rounds, he fled toward his home in the direction of the state troopers.
“Apparently the deputies had scared Mr. Vogel who was coming around the side of the mountain toward us,” Bunch said. “We let him pass, and he walked to his house, saw our cruisers, and started back toward us. We told him to drop the gun. He said he wouldn’t but he finally eventually put the gun down.”
Bunch said no one was injured when Vogel fired into the house.
According to his arrest citation, Vogel was charged with resisting arrest twice. The first time was when Bunch and Witt apprehended him in the woods, and he refused to put the gun down and fought with them.
The second resisting arrest charged stemmed from attempts to book Vogel at the police station. He apparently jumped up with an aggressive manner toward Witt and Nighbert, and was cussing and tried to jump an officer, according to the citation.
Nighbert reportedly injured his hand during the scuffle.