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Spencer man faces attempted murder charge

Wadsley is accused of firing shotgun, hitting vehicle

Challer Wadsley

RUTHVEN — A Spencer man has been charged with attempted murder after he allegedly shot at a woman who was inside of a vehicle early Monday morning.

Challer D. Wadsley, 23, is charged with attempted murder, intimidation with a dangerous weapon, domestic abuse, false imprisonment and public intoxication.

According to the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Department, Wadsley was a passenger in a vehicle that was being driven by a 21-year-old woman, whom he allegedly assaulted.

He also allegedly held a 20-gauge shotgun to the woman’s head while still in the vehicle.

The woman was able to pull her vehicle over in the 3700 block of U.S. Highway 18. That is when, according to the Sheriff’s Department, Wadsley got out of the vehicle with the shotgun.

As the victim tried pulling away, Wadsley is accused of firing the shotgun at her vehicle, hitting it on the rear passenger side bumper.

At 3:14 a.m., deputies with the Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Department were dispatched to U.S. Highway 18, near Ruthven, after they received two 911 calls reporting a man with a gun.

The Sheriff’s Department reported that deputies did not find the man, but did see a vehicle leaving the area. They pulled the vehicle over in the 3600 block of 380th Street and determined a passenger in the vehicle, identified as Wadsley, was the man who reportedly had the gun.

Deputies spent eight hours searching a four-mile stretch of ditch along U.S. Highway 18, where they eventually found the shotgun and two spent rounds.

Wadsley was taken to the Palo Alto County Jail, where he is being held while awaiting his initial appearance before a magistrate.

No initial appearance date could be found on Iowa Courts Online.

The Palo Alto County Sheriff’s Department was assisted by the Clay County Sheriff’s Department, Emmetsburg Police Department, the Algona Police Department’s K-9, Jet, and the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation.

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