Editor’s note: The video in the player above is from a previous report on this story.
One of five people charged in the shooting of an Indiana judge and his wife was set to go on trial in the same judge’s courtroom beginning next week, reported WTHR, the NBC affiliate in Indianapolis.
Thomas Moss, 43, of Lafayette, was scheduled to stand trial Jan. 20 before Tippecanoe Superior Court Judge Steve Meyer in Lafayette, Indiana. Meyer and his wife, Kim, were shot at their home on Jan. 18 by a man who yelled through the couple’s door that he was looking for his dog.
Before the shooting, Moss had been facing charges of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, intimidation, criminal recklessness and domestic battery, according to online court records. He has since been charged with nine counts, including attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder.
The Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office on Thursday announced four others had been charged in the case:
Raylen Ferguson, 38, of Lexington, Kentucky Blake Smith, 32, of Lafayette Amanda Milsap, 45, of Lafayette Zenada Greer, 61, of Lexington, KentuckyPolice identified Ferguson as the man who fired multiple shots through the closed door of the couple’s home on Sunday afternoon, striking the husband and wife – and causing “significant damage” to their residence.
Prior to the shooting, surveillance video showed a man on the front porch of the home wearing a black and gray hooded flannel, gray scarf, gray earmuffs, black sunglasses, a hood pulled over his head and what appeared to be a white face mask. According to court documents, the man knocked on the door with a “distinct known pattern/cadence.”
The Meyers told authorities they asked who was there, and a man said he was looking for his dog. Steve Meyer said they didn’t have his dog, and then, gunshots were fired through the door, according to court documents. With a K-9 officer’s help, investigators found items Ferguson was seen wearing, including a flannel and shotgun with an “obliterated model and serial number” near where the shooting occurred. The gun had a discharged shotgun round in the chamber.
Video of police responding to the scene showed a car that was “parked suspiciously” behind trees. The car was reportedly stolen on that day.
According to court documents, Steve and Kim Meyer informed police of a “suspicious incident” that occurred at around 10:45 p.m., two days before the shooting. A man knocked at the door and said he had a food delivery, to which Steve Meyer told the man he had the wrong home.
The man from that incident “walked with the same distinct gait and had similar shoes as Ferguson was observed” wearing in the Jan. 18 video, documents revealed.
The Indiana State Police Laboratory later matched the DNA profile from the face mask found near the scene to Ferguson, according to court documents.
Following the shooting, investigators learned a gun matching the make, model and description of the gun found in the area had been sold to Blake Smith at a gun store Jan. 5, documents revealed. Smith had “been identified by law enforcement officers as a member of the Phantom Motorcycle club.” Moss, meanwhile, was identified in court documents as a “high-ranking member of the Indiana Chapter of the Phantom Motorcycle Club.”
Police later determined Zenada Greer reportedly drove with Ferguson from Lexington, Kentucky, toward Lafayette on Jan. 18. Four of the suspects – Greer, Smith, Moss and Ferguson – were all connected to each other through social media, according to court documents.
Documents also stated Milsap called the alleged victim in the case that was scheduled to go to trial and allegedly offered the alleged victim $10,000 – on behalf of Moss and gang members – not to testify.
In addition, a witness in Moss’ upcoming trial recalled a similar experience to the suspicious food delivery incident at the Meyer’s home. On Jan. 12, a masked person approached their home in Pennsylvania, and that person had the same “distinct walk/gait” as Ferguson, according to court documents.
A special judge has been requested for the case, according to Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush.
Meyer issued the following statement after the shooting: “This horrific violence will not shake my belief in the importance of peacefully resolving disputes. I remain confident we have the best judicial system in the world, and I am proud to be a part of it.”
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