NEW PHILADELPHIA A man who shot himself in the lower leg while on crystal meth and supposedly being without sleep for three days is lucky the injury wasn't more serious, according to Capt. Shawn Nelson of the New Philadelphia Police Department.
Franklin Heldt is being held in Tuscarawas County jail on a parole violation. Nelson explained that because Heldt was on parole, he was prohibited from possessing a fire arm.
Police had received a report at 5:55 p.m. Thursday about a shooting incident in the 400 block of North Broadway involving a man with a gunshot wound in the lower leg. He was transported to a hospital and then flown by helicopter to Akron City Hospital, where he was treated and released.
With consent, police searched the apartment and found and confiscated a semi-automatic handgun.
Earlier Thursday, police had received a report of a residential burglary on North Broadway. Nelson said that a safe was stolen, which contained cash and the .40-caliber handgun.
"The shot went through his leg, but he's lucky it wasn't a hollow-point bullet or the damage would have been much more severe," Nelson said.
The safe had been cut open in the apartment, where five other people were present, he said. Instead of arresting the suspects now, officers expect to seek charges against them through the Tuscarawas County grand jury because the five were there when the safe was opened, or shared its contents.
"Everybody in the apartment admitted to being addicted to crystal meth," he said.
The apartment manager served them with an eviction notice Thursday night, he added.