GEORGETOWN, Ohio — A Russellville man is facing attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault charges after shooting at Brown County deputies on June 22.

John Spires II is being charged with three counts each of those charges, one for each deputy that came under fire. Both attempted aggravated murder and felonious assault are first-degree felonies. Information on his indictment indicates that Spires was armed with an AR-15 rifle at the time of the shooting.

Spires is also being charged with discharge of a firearm on or near prohibited premises, in this case across U.S. 62 during the shooting. The charge is a third-degree felony.

In addition, Spires is facing an additional seven years in prison on each charge because he was shooting at law enforcement officers.

Deputies fired back at Spires during the incident, wounding him in the leg. He was later taken into custody.

A Brown County grand jury indicted Spires on the charges on July 1. The grand jury also investigated the conduct of the officers involved in the shooting and issued the following finding:

“The grand jury finds that the officers acted reasonably and necessarily in consideration of the circumstances before them. We find that the force used by the officers was reasonable, and justified. The grand jury finds no criminal conduct on the part of Deputy Brandon Asbury, Deputy Michael Myers and/or Corporal Ryan Wedmore and therefore returns no indictment against them.”

The investigation into the incident was conducted by the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation at the request of Brown County Sheriff Gordon Ellis because it was an officer involved shooting.

Myers and Asbury were called to the Spires home on North Columbus Avenue around 9 p.m., on June 22 along with Wedmore.

When they arrived, 43-year-old John Spires came out of the home and began shooting at them with a rifle. All three deputies took cover, with Myers and Asbury returning fire.

Spires retreated inside the home and began firing at the deputies from another part of the house. Deputies returned fire once again until Spires stopped shooting.

A standoff took place for approximately an hour and a half, until Spires was seen laying on the floor near his front door.

“The individual was observed in a prone position near the front door. He had one hand up and moved another up. It appeared at that point that he was unarmed,” Ellis said in an interview on June 23 following the incident.

“The decision was made to have four law enforcement officers, two with rifles in the lead and two with pistols behind, to move rapidly to his location with the intent to take him into custody.”

At that point, Myers and Wedmore moved to grab him while being covered by Sergeant George Baker of the Mount Orab Police Department and Ellis.

Spires was taken into custody and then transported to University Hospital with a gunshot wound to the leg.

”(Myers and Asbury) used verbal commands when they first encountered him to try and talk him down, but he went back in the house, comes out and immediately opens fire,” said Ellis.

He said approximately 15 rounds were fired at deputies during both engagements

Ellis said that his deputies each returned fire with approximately five to eight rounds each.

“As soon as he stopped (shooting), they stopped. They only returned fire when they were receiving it and their return fire was not excessive at all. They returned fire as they were trained to do which is reduce the threat,” Ellis said.

Regarding when the gunshot injury to Spires took place, Ellis said “I would speculate based on talking with the deputies and viewing the body cam video that he was hit on the second engagement. After that second engagement, he did not fire again.”

Ellis said that he is very pleased with how law enforcement officers on the scene conducted themselves.

“It was a textbook response. Their professionalism, their restraint, their use of verbal commands before they resorted to use of force, their response in relation to what the suspect did was very considered. You could not have asked for a better response than what they gave,” he said. “Twice in a week now, we have had deputies respond to barricaded subjects with weapons. This time, they took the deputies under fire. You could not have asked for a better outcome based on the situation that they faced.”

Spires is in the Brown County Jail on a $1,000,000 bond.