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Robert Sheets, 34, of Quarryville, shot a man in the chest, leaving him to die, only to return the next day to hunt him down with a hatchet when he realized his victim was still alive, according to a release by the Lancaster County district attorney's office.
“It was 41 hours from the time the defendant picked up the victim until the time he crawled out of the cornfield and found help,” Assistant District Attorney Jennifer Ponessa said during her closing argument about the Aug. 2017 attempted killing.
“He was shot in the chest and left for dead, only later being shot in the back of the head and hit with a hatchet on his head and neck and again left for dead.”
Sheets also stole the man’s wallet, which contained about $400, and cell phone after the first shooting, according to the release.
The victim crawled through a cornfield in Aug. heat, drank from mud puddles-- he didn’t know if he’d find any help, as stated in the release.
The victim was eventually able to walk to an Oak Road home in Manor Township after the shootings, but suffered a lacerated lung, extensive internal bleeding, three deep lacerations to his head and neck, and a shattered jaw as a round traveled along his jawline, according to the DA.
Sheets was arrested in Virginia after leading police on a 30-mile chase into Fauquier County a few days after the shootings, according to the release.
The victim recovered and testified against Sheets, who has been convicted on two counts of attempted homicide and one count of robbery on Jan. 6 in Lancaster County Court, according to the release and court documents.
Sheets remains in the Lancaster County Prison on $1 million bail after the jury returned guilty verdicts on the three felonies after a three-day trial.
Sentencing will occur at a later date.
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