Police briefs_11/3

Augusta County

n Authorities charged Christopher Stagner, 35, of West Augusta, with maiming as a result of driving under the influence, Friday after a July vehicle accident on Braley Pond Road.

Virginia State Police said Stagner and Wayne Lee Armstrong, 36, also of West Augusta, were headed southbound in a 1997 Lexus on a paved section of the road before Stagner crashed the car into a tree.

Stagner previously has been found guilty on charges of attempting to elude police, operating a motor vehicle by a habitual offender and possession of a Schedule I or II drug, according to court records.

n Authorities have identified Mohammed N. Niazi, of Staunton, on charges of assault with a dangerous weapon stemming from an Oct. 9 incident in which a man used a hammer to attack a George Washington University student.

According to a university advisory notice, Niazi should be considered armed and dangerous. He is a light-complexioned male, possibly of Middle-Eastern descent, campus officials said in the release. They described him as a 5 foot 8 inch-tall man who weighs approximately 160 pounds.

n An Augusta County hog farmer found two hogs slaughtered Sunday, the gruesome result of a weekend bear attack.

Mark Senger, who lives near Sangerville, reported to officers that a bear crawled through a barn window to snatch the hogs. Each hog was valued at about $300 each.