ROMNEY, W.Va. — A dispute between two neighbors in Hampshire County left one dead and the other in jail charged with murder.
According to Hampshire County Sheriff Nathan Sions the body of Michael Bacha, 71, was found in the yard of a home in the Slanesville community Wednesday afternoon. Sions said another neighbor made the grim discovery while going there at the request of the Bacha’s wife to check on him.
“Deputies and Troopers responded and found the male lying on the ground deceased. He had been there for what is believed to be several hours prior to us getting notified,” said Sions.
Investigators learned the homeowner, Robert Shartzer, 83, had fled the area on a four-wheeler and was believed to be in a large wooded area adjacent to his home. He was also believed to still be armed.
Law enforcement from a number of agencies in both West Virginia and Maryland converged on the scene to help State Police and the Sheriff’s Department in their search for the alleged gunman. The search included K-9 tracking dogs and a helicopter from the Maryland State Police.
“We finally found him about 7:20 p.m. that evening. A group of us was on a UTV riding old logging roads and we came across him still riding his ATV at that point. He was taken into custody without incident,” said Sions.
The two neighbors evidently had a good relationship up until that morning. Bacha would often take Shartzer to his doctor appointments and had taken him to the hospital a day prior to the shooting for cataract surgery. But a day later, when Bacha showed up to give him a ride to a follow-up appointment, Sions said according to Shartzer, something went wrong.
“Mr. Shartzer claimed Mr. Bacha was verbally abusive to him and he didn’t like that. When Mr. Bacha showed up that morning to take him to his eye appointment, that’s when he shot him,” the Sheriff explained.
Deputies recovered a handgun from a box on the back of Shartzer’s ATV. Investigators said he confirmed it was the gun he used to shoot and kill Bacha.
Shartzer was charged with first degree murder and is lodged in the Potomac Highlands Regional Jail.