Man charged with felonious assault on officer

STUART, Va. — An Ararat man who was barricaded inside his home and apprehended with the help of pepper spray is being held without bond on charges including felonious assault on an officer.

Sammy Wayne Smith, 52, of 211 Triple Smith Lane, was taken into custody shortly after 4 p.m. Wednesday after members of the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office executed a search warrant at his residence.

That course of action was taken on the heels of an earlier incident in which the alleged assault of an officer occurred, according to Patrick Sheriff Dan Smith.

At the time of his arrest Wednesday afternoon, the Ararat man was wanted on the felony assault charge stemming that case on July 18.

On that date, Senior Deputy Rob Martin attempted to arrest Smith for public intoxication after responding to a call to check on the well-being of a female individual.

Smith allegedly resisted arrest and a physical confrontation ensued between him and the officer.

“Our deputy was trying to effect the arrest alone, like we always are, and other male subjects began to approach the struggle,” the Patrick sheriff related Thursday.

“Smith was able to escape the deputy’s grasp and fled.”

The sheriff indicated that his office also had information that Smith had been armed with a handgun.

Before this week’s encounter, a search warrant was obtained for Smith’s residence because he is a multi-time convicted felon, according to the sheriff.

During the warrant’s execution Wednesday afternoon, a tactical team of the Patrick Sheriff’s Office deployed chemical agents in the form of aerosol oleoresin capsicum (OC), also known as pepper spray, into Smith’s upstairs bedroom, where he had barricaded himself inside.

“Our deputies removed Sammy from the bedroom a short time later, and a handgun was found in the same room during the subsequent search,” Sheriff Smith added Thursday.

In addition to the earlier felony assault on an officer charge, the Ararat man is accused of obstruction of justice and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon arising from the Wednesday incident.

He is being held without privilege of bond in the Patrick County Jail awaiting an Oct. 8 court appearance.

The Ararat resident has a lengthy criminal history, including a 2021 felony conviction for malicious shooting at a train or car.