NEWS

Man charged with attempted murder requests furlough

Sara Nealeigh
Reporter

CHILLICOTHE - A man accused of shooting a member of his own family in the head has requested a furlough while awaiting evaluation results.

Defense counsel for Charles Rowe, 44, filed a motion for a furlough from bond July 17 to seek a diagnosis for a possible neurological disorder, according to Ross County Prosecutor Matthew Schmidt. However, Schmidt said Rowe's attorney was unavailable for a hearing Thursday.

Rowe pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity to the charge of attempted murder in January after being indicted on the charge earlier that month. He has since undergone one evaluation, which the court ordered in January, according to court records.

The results of that initial evaluation were not immediately available. However, the results prompted a second court-ordered evaluation, Schmidt said. The second evaluation was ordered June 29 and was given 30 days to be completed, court records indicate.

Rowe is accused of the Dec. 2 shooting 19-year-old Jerrod Bowdle, who is his cousin according to a family member, in a home on the 200 block of Darby Lane.  A frantic 911 call came into dispatch shortly after 8:30 a.m. Dec. 2 that reported a man with a head injury. When crews arrived, they discovered Bowdle had been shot.

Bowdle, who at the time of the shooting was a reservist in the Army National Guard, sustained a gunshot wound to the head and treated at a Columbus hospital. A family member said Thursday that Bowdle is doing well.

Rowe has been held in the Ross County Jail on the attempted murder charge since Dec. 2.