EDGARD — An Edgard man shot in the leg last year during a struggle with deputies was sentenced to two years in jail and ordered to pay $315 in court costs following the acceptance of a plea agreement on his attempted disarming of a peace officer charge.

Kirk Bovie of 158 E. John Pierre St. in Edgard was arrested July 10, 2014, and booked with disarming of a peace officer after his release from University Hospital for treatment following an altercation the day before.

According to a release from the St. John the Baptist Parish Sheriff’s Office, the case began July 9, 2014, at 5:51 a.m. when deputies responded to the 100 block of John Pierre Street in Edgard following a disturbance report.

“The complainant told 911 operators that Kirk Bovie … pushed down her niece, punched the complainant in the face and broke a window on her trailer,” the release said. “The complainant also told operators Bovie had been smoking illegal narcotics. When deputies arrived on the scene, Bovie fled to a wooded area.”

Deputies located Bovie approximately 18 minutes later in a sugarcane field, holding what appeared to be a handgun.

“With weapons drawn, deputies ordered Bovie to put down the weapon,” the release said. “He refused to put down the weapon and charged a deputy. Bovie grabbed the deputy’s weapon, and the deputy fired two shots striking Bovie once in the upper leg.”

Authorities said Bovie was alert and conscious on the scene, and no one else was injured in the incident.

When deputies recovered Bovie’s handgun, they identified the weapon as an air soft pistol. A standard air soft pistol has an orange tip so it is not mistaken as an actual firearm, but the orange tip on Bovie’s gun had been removed.

According to Sgt. Dane Clement, the deputy involved in the shooting, Arthur Ponder, was immediately given a leave of absence, which is a standard practice.

At the time of the arrest, Ponder had over three years of service with the St. John Parish Sheriff’s Office and had been assigned to the Criminal Patrol Division since May 2013.

Sheriff Mike Tregre said Ponder returned to patrol after an internal review.

“The officers here  (in St. John Parish) are faced with situations where they have to make decisions in seconds,” Tregre said Monday. “Even when those decisions are looked at for days, weeks and months.”

Tregre said he was always confident the investigation would not result in charges for Ponder.

“It all reverts back to his training,” Tregre said. “He did his job.”

Bovie was sentenced to two years in jail, with credit for time served since July 9, 2015. Court documents state he will be released, with good time, on March 22, 2016. Bovie was ordered to pay $315 in court costs.