OIL CITY, Pa. (EYT) — A man who is currently incarcerated in the Venango County Jail is facing additional charges for allegedly attempting to contact and intimidate a victim with charges pending against him.

According to court documents on Wednesday, May 14, the Oil City Police Department filed criminal charges against 38-year-old Wade Hampton Shaffer Jr..

The charges stem from reports of an inmate at the Venango County Jail attempting to contact a victim with a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order and charges pending against him.

According to a criminal complaint, Oil City Police recently began an investigation after being made aware that Wade Hampton Shaffer Jr. — who is listed as a transient and currently incarcerated at the Venango County Jail — had been trying to make contact with a known victim in an attempt to get her to bail him out and drop charges against him.

After being made aware of the situation, police began listening to calls Shaffer was making from the jail.

On several occasions, Shaffer attempted to have others contact the victim on his behalf and offered several individuals thousands of dollars if they were able to get him out of jail or get the victim to drop the charges against him, according to the complaint.

The complaint states that on April 13, Shaffer contacted a known female and had her log into his “network” to attempt to make contact with the victim. He also wanted the known woman to give the victim’s phone number to him.

On April 22, around 10:53 p.m., Shaffer allegedly made contact with another known female from Butler County and asked her if she would contact the victim about two pending cases. He reportedly told the woman to send the victim a message via Facebook, the complaint states.

Shaffer allegedly told the woman to tell the victim he needs to be bailed out of jail and that “a one way ticket out from all of this is to say that the psychotic pills aren’t working and that you are hearing voices,” according to the complaint.

On April 24, a known male went to the victim’s house to make contact with the victim for Shaffer, and the victim then contacted the Oil City Police, the complaint indicates.

The victim also has a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order against Shaffer, as well as additional charges pending against him, the complaint notes.

Shaffer was arraigned in Magisterial District Judge Matthew T. Kirtland’s office at 11:45 a.m. on Thursday, May 13, on the following charges:

– Intimidate Witness/Victim False/Misleading Testimony, Felony 1
– Stalking — Repeatedly Communicate To Cause Fear, Felony 3
– Harassment — Communicate Repeatedly in Another Manner, Misdemeanor 3

Bail has been denied.

A preliminary hearing is scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on May 26, with Judge Kirtland presiding.

Court documents indicate Shaffer has three cases currently pending in the Venango County Court of Common Pleas, including one related to a Protection From Abuse (PFA) order violation and another related to an incident where he allegedly stole a woman’s pistol then threatened her with it.