Charges filed after deputy-involved shooting in Cumberland

Published 2:35 pm Thursday, June 22, 2023

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One man is in custody and the Virginia State Police are investigating after a deputy-involved shooting that took place Wednesday night in Cumberland County. 

According to the Cumberland County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called out just after 9 p.m. Wednesday to a home on Cherokee Trail. A female domestic assault victim had called 911 and then fled the home. When deputies arrived on scene, one of them saw a man inside the home pointing a rifle after them through a window. 

“The deputy fired and struck the man,” said Corinne Gellar, public relations director for the Virginia State Police.  

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The man, later identified as 35-year-old Cartersville resident Steven R. Dillard, then barricaded himself inside the house. After some time, a Virginia State Police sergeant arrived on scene and was able to talk Dillard into surrendering. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported to the nearby hospital for treatment of his minor injuries. 

Gellar said that state police officers recovered Dillard’s rifle inside the home and no state or sheriff’s office personnel were injured during the incident. The female victim was treated at the scene, Gellar said, for minor injuries she received in the domestic assault before deputies arrived. 

After consulting with the Cumberland County Commonwealth’s Attorney, state police charged Dillard on Thursday, June 22. He currently faces one misdemeanor count of brandishing a firearm, one felony count of assault on a law enforcement officer and one misdemeanor count of assault on a family member. Dillard was taken to the Piedmont Regional Jail, where he currently remains.

Due to the fact it was a deputy-involved shooting, Cumberland County Sheriff Darrell Hodges has asked the Virginia State Police to investigate.