HADLEY — The Connecticut man accused of shooting a Hadley farmer on Mill Valley Road on the afternoon of Dec. 31 allegedly is in a relationship with the farmer’s ex-girlfriend, and was previously involved in a confrontation with the farmer at the same location last April, according to statements from the victim to Hadley police.

A statement of facts in support of the criminal complaint on six charges brought against Marc A. Veturis, 28, of Waterbury, reports that the suspect fired three shots at the victim, identified as Bruce E. Jenks, with one bullet striking Jenks in the shoulder, and all of the bullets hitting a barn at 102 Mill Valley Road.

Veturis pleaded not guilty to a series of charges in Eastern Hampshire District Court in Belchertown last week and is being held after defense attorney Francis Dimento Jr. of Boston asked Tuesday for a six-week continuance of a dangerousness hearing for Veturis in Eastern Hampshire District Court.

Veturis is facing charges of armed assault with a firearm with intent to murder, assault and battery by discharging a firearm, attempting to commit a kidnapping with a firearm, unlawful possession of a firearm, unlawful possession of ammunition and unlawful possession of a loaded firearm.

Northwestern Deputy District Attorney Jennifer Suhl said that her office had no objections to putting off the dangerousness hearing. Suhl asked to keep various exhibits related to the shooting impounded and that a protective order remain in effect for Jenks and his family.

Jenks was briefly in the courtroom on Tuesday. He left when the judge agreed to the continuance and conditions, while Veturis family members, filling up much of a front row, conferred with Dimento afterward.

The statement of facts in the police report, written by Hadley Officer Janelle Seitz, came following interviews with Jenks both at the scene of the shooting and at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield, where he was transported by ambulance for treatment. Another witness, identified as an employee of the Mill Valley Store, also provided information for the report.

Officers learned from the victim while he was being treated at the scene that the shooting was not a random incident, and that the suspect and victim had been involved in an April 2022 confrontation in Hadley.

“Jenks was asked by officers if he knew who had shot him. Jenks informed them that he had been shot by his ex-girlfriend’s current boyfriend,” Seitz wrote.

That former girlfriend was critically injured when Jenks stabbed her multiple times at their Northampton home in July 2000.

In 2001, Jenks was sentenced by a Hampshire Superior Court judge to eight to nine years in state prison for the attack, which left the woman in a coma for three days. She also lost a kidney and her spleen.

The New Year’s Eve incident began when Veturis went into the Mill Valley Store and asked for jumper cables, according to court documents. Those jumper cables were provided to him by an employee. Jenks then used his own truck to help jump start the vehicle Veturis was driving, though once it was started the suspect exited his vehicle and approached Jenks’ truck. As Jenks was returning the jumper cables to the bed of the truck Veturis grabbed him by his wrist with one hand and held a black gun in the other.

“At this time, Jenks immediately recognized the male subject as the person with whom he had a previous confrontation. The male subject stated, ‘you’re coming with me’ multiple times. Jenks responded by saying, ‘I’m not going anywhere.’ The male subject put the gun to Jenks’ chest and said, ‘do you want a hollow point in your chest?’”

Three shots were then fired at Jenks, according to court documents.

When shown a photo of Veturis at the hospital, Jenks identified him as his assailant. “That’s the dude from April and that’s the dude that shot me,” he told police, court records state.

At 4:20 p.m., Veturis was stopped on Interstate 91 south by Northampton police. He told officers that he was traveling from Whately to Waterbury, and was let go. That stop coincided with a be-on-the-lookout issued for a vehicle with a Connecticut license plate, but did not include a specific license plate. Jenks was soon after able to provide police a photo of the vehicle’s license plate that had been taken during the April incident.

Jenks declined to comment when contacted Thursday.

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