MORGANTOWN – Speaking through an intermediary, members of Michael Bolyard’s family told The Dominion Post that their efforts to get the man help went unheeded.
Bolyard, 55, is the individual who was fatally shot Thursday morning by a Monongalia County Sheriff’s Deputy at the Sabraton CVS.
According to the family, he should have never been free at that time to potentially harm himself or others.
Bolyard is the same individual who was involved in a May 10 incident on Aaron’s Creek Road.
According to the MCSD press release of that event, deputies arrived on scene to conduct a welfare check and encountered a male experiencing a psychiatric crisis.
During a multi-hour standoff, Bolyard allegedly set his home’s attached garage on fire and shot his dog multiple times in the neck with a pellet gun before surrendering to law enforcement.
He was taken to a local medical facility for evaluation, according to the sheriff’s department press release. The statement does not indicate how long Bolyard was held, but the MCSD notes criminal charges and an active arrest warrant were issued after he was released by the medical facility.
Based on Monongalia County Circuit Court documents, Bolyard was indicted on charges of First Degree Arson and Cruelty to Animals on May 14 for the Aaron’s Creek standoff.
A letter advising Bolyard of the indictment, dated May 21, explains that an arraignment hearing had been scheduled for May 27.
That arraignment was ultimately held June 1. Bolyard failed to appear, resulting in the issuance of a bench warrant for his arrest.
In its press release, the MCSD explained deputies received information on June 2 that Bolyard was actively attempting to obtain a firearm, which he was legally prohibited from possessing.
“On the morning of June 4, deputies received a report that a vehicle matching the description of Mr. Bolyard’s vehicle was in the Sabraton area. Deputies located the vehicle at the CVS on Earl L. Core Road. As deputies exited their cruiser and attempted to identify the driver, the subject inside the vehicle presented a firearm and discharged it. A deputy then returned fire,” the MCSD states in its press release.
As it turned out, the court issued an order denying Bolyard a public defender on the day of the shooting, explaining “the defendant’s income exceeds the limit established for appointment of counsel.”
Attorney Rachel Fetty Anderson said she reached out to The Dominion Post after being contacted by the family.
“What they want to have in the public eye is the fact that the family was trying to get him help. They tried to get him help on the day of the [May 10] event. Their petition for a mental hygiene on him was never heard. Never,” Fetty Anderson said. “They were never called to testify to get him help. They’re upset that he was immediately released after a few days when there was no indication that he was in his right mind. He should have never been released. He’d just tried to burn down the house where he lived; the house he was standing in. He shot a dog that he loved 14 times in the neck with a pellet gun. What does it take?”
She said the family is also distressed over the position the deputies who responded to CVS were forced into.
“It’s been hell on the family, and it’s been like this for weeks now. What they want is to make it clear that they feel this was a failure of the mental health system here. Had anyone followed up, called her back. If they could have the mental hygiene hearing, at least there would be the peace of knowing everything had been done to try to get him help. But for him to just be released and be in a position to get a weapon and harm himself and put the officers at risk … He should have never been allowed out.”
