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Hickory police said Friday they now believe it was the father, not the son, who fired at officers during a January shootout at a residence on the city’s east side.
Police said Michael Lee Watson was charged Thursday with four counts of assault with a deadly weapon on a government official and one count of obstruction of justice.
Assault charges against his son, Kenneth Alexander Hewitt, have been dropped, police say. But he has been charged with obstruction of justice, because police say he gave false statements about the incident.
On Jan. 21, Hickory police tried serving a drug warrant at the residence, when someone inside the house began firing. One officer was struck in his armored vest. Watson was injured during the shootout.
Two young children who were in the house were not hurt, police say.
Originally, Hewitt said he was the person who began shooting at police. But officials say new evidence they received from the SBI after an investigation leads them to believe Watson was responsible.
Watson is jailed under $500,000 bond at the Catawba County Detention Center, police say.
