William Michael Lamb

HARRISVILLE — A preliminary hearing is slated for Monday, June 12, for a Ritchie County man accused of trying to kill his wife.

William Michael Lamb, 47, of 25212 Staunton Turnpike, Smithville, is in custody at the North Central Regional Jail on a $500,000 cash-only bond following his arrest Friday on two charges of attempted murder.

According to a criminal complaint filed in Ritchie County Magistrate Court, Lamb was questioned by a West Virginia State Police trooper based in Ritchie County on Friday at the State Police’s Morgantown detachment. Lamb allegedly confessed to lying in wait along West Virginia 16 near Lambs Run Road, between Smithville and Harrisville, on Thursday and Friday with a 7-millimeter Ruger rifle.

On Thursday, he allegedly fired a shot that struck the bumper of her vehicle as it drove by. The next day, he fired again, and this bullet entered the trunk of the car, passed through the back seat and driver’s seat and struck her in the back, the complaint says.

The complaint did not indicate a motive in the shooting. The trooper who made the arrest was unavailable for comment Monday, and a message left with the Ritchie County Prosecutor’s Office was not returned.

Published reports indicate that Vickie Lamb was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, but no information on her condition was available Monday.

William Lamb’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Ritchie County Magistrate Court.