STEUBENVILLE — A 43-year-old man found guilty of firing at Jefferson County sheriff’s deputies and other law enforcement personnel from his attic window two years ago will be sentenced Monday.

Adam Coy Roberts, 616 state Route 151, was convicted Thursday of felonious assault with a firearm specification as well as for inducing panic, a misdemeanor, during the shooting spree that unfolded in his Gould’s Run neighborhood in the early morning hours of Sept. 7, 2023.

The jury, however, ruled the state did not prove Roberts knew he was firing at a police officer, so his felonious assault on Deputy Lt. Kohl Liddick was reduced to an F2. Likewise, he was found not guilty of feloniously assaulting a second officer, Deputy Tyler Yoho.

Roberts had also been charged with using weapons while under the influence of drugs, alcohol or both, but it was dismissed before the trial after Common Pleas Judge Joseph Bruzzese ruled a statement he’d made to police earlier in the day that he “thought he’d had some bad meth” would be prejudicial. Since he hadn’t been tested for the presence of either drugs or alcohol in his body and his statement was inadmissible, the charge was dropped.

The jury was told only that Roberts had been to the hospital about eight hours before he began shooting at what he insisted were intruders trying to get in his home and property.

Authorities tried in vain to make him understand he was actually shooting at law enforcement, but it wasn’t until he spotted a police drone hovering over the scene that he put his weapons down and exited his house.

More than 100 shell casings were found inside, authorities said.

“He claimed he’d been followed home (from the hospital) and intruders were trying to come into his home,” Prosecutor Bernie Battistel said. “Police had responded without lights so he wouldn’t shoot at them.

Liddick had told the jury he saw a muzzle flash and heard what he believed to pellets inside shotgun shells landing around him and was heard on his body camera at one point saying, “That was close.”

Yoho told jurors he heard what he thought was a bullet whizzing over his head, describing the sound as “like a badminton going over his head,” but no bullet was found near his position that night.

“I think the jury paid attention to the facts, and they got it right,” Battistel said. “If you do something like (that), you’re obviously going to be looking at serious consequences, a lengthy prison sentence.”

At sentencing, he said Roberts is facing two to eight years on the felonious assault charge plus a mandatory three-year prison sentence because a gun was used in commission of the crime.

“It was an extremely dangerous situation,” Sheriff Fred Abdalla Jr. said Friday. “You had an individual who was not in his right frame of mind shooting indiscriminately …with rounds going toward the roadway and who knows where. He had an arsenal of weapons and ammunitions of various calibers and could have been shooting til the sun rose that day. Fortunately, we were able to de-escalate the situation quickly.”

“I’m extremely proud of our men and women and how they responded that day,” he added. “They showed both calm and courage, containing a situation that could have gone terribly wrong. They took brave actions to protect our community. Deputies Yoho and Liddick, while being fired at, displayed sound tactical response and judgment which, thankfully, allowed us to de-escalate a bad situation.”

Abdalla also thanked the Wells Township and Steubenville police departments who, he said, “showed up like the calvary to have our backs, and I’m very thankful for the dispatchers and Jefferson County 9-1-1 who were amazing throughout the entire event. Although I would like to have seen Roberts convicted on all counts, I understand it. I also want to thank Battistel, who worked very hard on this case, and I thank the jurors for their hard work and their commitment to service and justice.”