by Geoff Fox
A Hancock man was arrested on Friday, January 27, after allegedly stabbing his wife with a screwdriver.
According to a press release from the Hancock Police Department, officers responded to Buddy Lou’s Restaurant at 11 East Main Street for an undesirable person at the restaurant.
Police said management at the restaurant requested an employee leave the property.
When officers arrived, they found the employee, John Franklin Houdersheldt, III, 30, of Hancock, had been in a dispute with his wife, Britnie Shields, 35, of Hancock. Shields was also an employee at the restaurant.
Houdersheldt had left the property prior to police arriving on the scene, and officers were unable to locate him anywhere near the restaurant.
Officers also found out Shields had been transported to War Memorial Hospital in West Virginia by another employee for an unknown type of injury.
Police said Shields was also having trouble breathing.
Officers responded to the hospital and found Shields had suffered a stabbing wound to her back and was being prepared to be transported to a trauma center in Virginia.
Shields told police she had been stabbed by her husband, John Houdersheldt, with a screwdriver.
The Washington County Sheriff’s Office and Maryland Department of Natural Resources Police assisted Hancock Police in looking for Houdersheldt.
Police said Houdersheldt was found on Fleming Court in Hancock and placed under arrest.
Houdersheldt was charged with attempted second-degree murder, first-degree assault, and second-degree assault.
Houdersheldt is being held at the Washington County Detention Center without bail pending a bond hearing, police said.
Police said Shields was transported to a trauma center in Virginia and her condition is not being released at this time due to patient confidentiality laws.
