A McHenry man is found guilty of attempted 1st degree murder and violation of a protective order following a jury trial. According to Garrett County State’s Attorney Lisa Thayer Welch, 50 year old James Ptomey is being held at the Garrett County Detention Center where he has been housed since his arrest last September. On September 8, 2018, Maryland State Police responded to Mosser Road in McHenry when passers-by called 911 after finding a female in the roadway in distress and with obvious injuries. The victim immediately reported Ptomey as the assailant who had entered her residence wearing a mask and striking her repeatedly with a wooden object, initially described as a bat. She said he told her he was going to kill her. She was treated and released from Garrett Regional Medical Center for numerous hematomas and contusions to her head, face, back, abdomen, arms, legs and hands. MSP investigators determined Ptomey had purchased a mask earlier that day at a local store. Interviews with family members also helped provide a timeline of the day’s events. Ptomey was arrested the same day. His charges included violating a Protective Order which the victim had obtained in August.