Stuart was arraigned Tuesday from his hospital bed after his condition improved to the point where he was capable of understanding the charges against him.
Retired police officer George Stuart, who was shot during an armed standoff in Ludlow Wednesday, is seen in happier times in this undated photo supplied by WSHM-TV, CBS3, Springfield.SPRINGFIELD - George W. Stuart, the retired Springfield police officer who was injured from a self-inflicted gunshot following a 7 1/2 hour standoff with police in Ludlow, was arraigned Tuesday from his hospital bed on charges related to the July 18 incident.
Stuart, 71, was charged with arson and discharging a firearm within 500 feet of a dwelling. He denied the charges at his arraignment and was ordered held without a right to bail, said Hampden County District Attorney Mark G. Mastroianni.
Stuart was seriously injured from a self-inflicted gunshot to the abdomen as Springfield Police Commissioner William Fitchet, who had been part of the team trying to negotiate his surrender, wrestled with him for the gun as Stuart attemped to kill himself.
Mastroianni said the arraignment was conducted Tuesday in his room at Baystate Medical Center because Stuart’s condition had improved to the point where he was capable of understanding the charges levied against him.
Once he has improved to the point where he can be discharged from the hospital, he will be placed under the custody of the Hampden County Sheriff’s Department.
Mastroianni said Stuart’s lawyer, Thomas Rooke, may file a motion with the court for a bail-review hearing.
Officials charge that Stuart doused his home at 795 Center St. with accelerant and set it on fire on the morning of July 18, hours after he was scheduled to be in court for a divorce hearing. His wife, Rena Brunelle, who apparently moved out weeks earlier, was not present.
Stuart then retreated to the woods with a .38 caliber snub-nosed revolver.
The fire did significant damage to the house, and Ludlow Police Chief James J. McGowan said last week that there was evidence that a large but undetermined amount of money had been set on fire.
Mastroianni on Tuesday confirmed this on Tuesday. “There is information that there was money in the garage, and that is part of the investigation,” he said.
Stuart, who retired as a police officer in 1997, is the owner of a security-alarm installation business.
Republican reporter Patrick Johnson contributed to this article.