A Loxley man dressed in camouflage and hiding in the woods near his trailer who allegedly shot at two police officers was charged with two counts of attempted murder and is being held at the Baldwin County Corrections Center on two $500,000 bonds, one for each charge, District Judge Jody W. Bishop ruled Monday in a bond hearing at the Foley Satellite Courthouse. 

Edward Eugene Lichty, 41, who identified himself to authorities after the arrest as a former Marine sniper, allegedly shot two rounds at two Loxley police officers with a high powered rifle Sunday morning, according to Major Anthony Lowery, a spokesman with the Sheriff’s Office. 

Loxley Police Officers Doug Phillips and Chip Cason were responding to a 911 call in which Lichty allegedly called and said someone had been shot on his property, said Tony Nolfe, an investigator with the Sheriff’s Office at the bond hearing. 

At 8:00 a.m., Phillips and Cason responded first to the scene and when they exited their vehicle “a high caliber rifle round was fired into the tire” of the officers’ SUV, “literally inches from their feet,” Nolfe said. 

Neither officer was struck by the two rounds, Lowery said, but the incident escalated into a nearly four hour standoff between Lichty and municipal police departments and the Sheriff’s Office which responded to calls for assistance from the officers after the first shots were fired.     

Approximately 40 to 50 officers from Loxley, Summerdale, Robertsdale, Elberta and the Sheriff’s Office immediately arrived at the scene on Loxley Woods Lane, a dead-end street, northeast of the Town of Loxley and just north of Interstate 10. 

No one was injured in the incident, Lowery said.

“We sent in a negotiator with the Sheriff’s Office” during the standoff and setup a perimeter around the suspect, Lowery said. 

Nolfe said that Lichty also fired 10 shots during the four hour episode with a small-caliber weapon, and after he was arrested, officers recovered a stash of ammo from the suspect.

“He states that he earned the expert-marksman badge” from the Marine Corps and he “bragged” that he was “an extremely good shot” to officers after his arrest, Nolfe said. 

Lowery said that the Sheriff’s Office had not confirmed if Lichty was a former Marine. 

Lichty was held overnight Sunday for an evaluation at South Baldwin Regional Medical Center following his arrest, Lowery said. 

Toxicology results are still pending whether the suspect was under the influence of alcohol or drugs, Lowery noted.

If Lichty is released on bond, the court ordered that he wear an electronic ankle bracelet to monitor his whereabouts and that he be placed under house arrest.  The court also ordered that he cannot possess a firearm or weapon and that he must undergo a mental evaluation if released from the county correctional facility. 

Baldwin County District Attorney Judy Newcomb said that the suspect could face 10 years to life in prison if convicted on the two counts of attempted murder, a Class A felony.