A Jefferson County judge has ordered a trial for a 62-year-old rural Valley Falls man accused of shooting another man during a dispute in December.

Originally, John Hayworth Jr. was charged with attempted second-degree murder in the shooting of William Schoonover, 58, also of rural Valley Falls.

During a preliminary hearing Monday for John Hayworth Jr., Jefferson County Attorney Jason Belveal asked that he stand trial on an attempted first-degree murder charge because he alleges that the shooting was premeditated.

Prosecutors allege that the men, who own adjoining land about 40 miles northwest of Lawrence, had an ongoing dispute that became heated by a disagreement over cattle getting through a fence. Hayworth is accused of shooting Schoonover with a handgun on Dec. 4. Schoonover was taken to a Topeka hospital, but authorities have said he was recovering from his injuries.

Belveal said prosecutors have charged Hayworth’s wife, Bernadine Hayworth, with aggravated battery and obstructing the investigation. The Hayworths will be arraigned March 22.