A prominent Alabama judge was seriously wounded after he was shot Saturday afternoon, allegedly by his own son, WSFA-TV reports.
Around 1 p.m. Saturday, deputies from the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office were dispatched to the home of Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick. When deputies arrived, they were told that Hardwick had been assaulted and shot by his 36-year-old son, Khalfani Hardwick.
The junior Hardwick allegedly fled the scene and abandoned a truck off U.S. Highway 231. He was soon found and arrested near that roadway.
This is not the first time Khalfani Hardwick has shot someone. In 2014, he shot another man in the head, fracturing the victim’s skull and blasting bone into his brain. The victim, Clayton Riley, managed to survive but has struggled with his health ever since.
“I have a big scar on the back of my head,” Riley said in 2017, according to WSFA-TV. “I have eye damage and nerve damage in my hands and feet, and very tough migraines and seizures.”
Khalfani Hardwick was initially charged with attempted murder for the 2014 shooting, but that charge was later reduced to second-degree assault as part of a plea deal. He avoided prison.
Although Khalfani Hardwick’s father was serving on the bench at the time, he did not preside over his son’s case. Different prosecutors and a retired judge were appointed to handle the matter.
As for Saturday’s shooting, Khalfani Hardwick is being held without bond in the Montgomery County Detention Facility. He faces charges of first-degree domestic violence, which carries a potential life sentence in prison, and illegal possession of a firearm.
His father, Johnny Hardwick, is reportedly in serious condition in the hospital, where he has undergone at least one surgery for significant injuries.
“I am just asking that we continue to pray for the judge,” Montgomery County Sheriff Derrick Cunningham told AL.com.
Johnny Hardwick serves as the presiding judge over Alabama’s Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. He is also president of the Alabama Association of Circuit Court judges, according to the Montgomery Advertiser.
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[Feature Photo: Montgomery County Circuit Judge Johnny Hardwick/Montgomery County Circuit Court]
