4.20.2018

Indiana Justice

This week in Merrillville Indiana, a man left a gun laying in his car while he ran into a store. His toddler picked it up and shot the man's pregnant wife. The wife is in the hospital, the man has been charged, so far no one has died but the kids have been placed with children's services.

The police chief interviewed on the case said,
Gun owners have a duty to keep their weapons away from children, the police chief said. 
"This was a careless, senseless, criminal act," Petruch said.
It may be careless and senseless but if you're in Indiana, it depends on who your are as to whether it is a criminal act.

In 2011 and 2014 there were two very similar cases in Indiana.

  • March 2014, Greensburg, Indiana.  A man is arrested and charged with neglect after he leaves a loaded gun around and his kid is accidentally shot and killed. The man eventually received a 3-1/2 year sentence.
  • February 2011, Brookville, Indiana (about 40 miles from Greensburg). A man leaves a loaded gun around and his kid is accidentally shot and killed. The prosecutor does not file charges. No one is arrested.
  • April 2018, Merrillville Indiana, (the case from above)  a man left a gun laying in his car while he ran into a store. His toddler picked it up and shot the man's pregnant wife. The wife is in the hospital, the man has been charged, so far no one has died but the kids have been placed with children's services. 

Three very similar cases, a parent leaves a gun where a child can get to it. The child fires the gun and someone is hit. Two leave a child dead. All leave shaken families.

But,   the Indiana legal system handles one of the cases differently.
  • Greensburg case - charges filed. Man gets 3-1/2 year prison sentence.
  • Merrillville case - charges filed. Kids taken from family
  • .... 
  • Brookville case -  no charges filed. Kids left with family.

What's the difference between the cases?

The gun owner in the Brookville, "no-one-is-arrested", case is a Deputy Sheriff. 


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Summaries and links to the cases...

Merrillville case - [link]
A pregnant woman accidentally shot by her 3-year-old daughter who fired a handgun left near a car seat by her father remains in critical condition, Merrillville police said Thursday.

A 9 mm bullet struck Shaneque Thomas, 21, in the upper chest and shoulder, Merrillville Police Chief Joe Petruch said. She was in stable but critical condition at Loyola University Hospital in Chicago.

Gun owners have a duty to keep their weapons away from children, the police chief said.

"This was a careless, senseless, criminal act," Petruch said.

The girl's parents, who live in Michigan City, had finished a medical appointment when they stopped at Plato's Closet in the 300 block of 81st Avenue in Merrillville shortly before 4 p.m. Tuesday.

Her father, Menzo Brazier, stuffed a 9 mm Glock handgun between the seat and the center console and then went into the store to buy a pair of jeans, Petruch said.

The girl was in the back seat. She picked up the handgun and fired one shot, Petruch said. The 9 mm bullet traveled through the driver's seat and struck her mother.

"People take on responsibility by carrying a weapon," Petruch said. "You don't leave it in a car with a 3-year-old and a 1-year-old.

Lake County prosecutors on Thursday charged Brazier with two counts of criminal recklessness and two counts of child neglect, according to a Merrillville Police Department press release.

Brazier remained held in the Lake County Jail, Petruch said.

The Glock in this incident was equipped with an extended magazine, Petruch said.

Many guns have a safety lever located above the grip. The lever must be moved out of safe in order to fire.

The Glock's safety is built into the trigger and automatically disengages when the trigger is pressed.

 Link to more on Brookville and Greensburg cases. Tuesday Night Buzz: Indiana Justice?:

Greensburg case:
GREENSBURG, Ind. (AP) — A southeastern Indiana man faces felony charges alleging that he left a loaded rifle unattended shortly before a 13-year-old boy was fatally shot by a sibling who picked up the weapon. 
Thirty-four-year-old Jason L. Forshee of Greensburg was arrested and charged Friday with neglect of a dependent resulting in death and dangerous control of a child. 
The Greensburg Daily News reports (http://bit.ly/1nNTYAZ ) Craig A. Roberts died March 11 after his 6-year-old sibling picked up the weapon, pointed it at him and it accidentally discharged. 
A bullet in the rifle’s chamber struck Craig in the chest and he was later pronounced dead.
Court documents state that Forshee told police he was cleaning the weapon and had removed its magazine, but did not realize a bullet was in the rifle’s chamber.

Brookville case
BROOKVILLE, Ind. -- Criminal charges will be not filed in the shooting death last week of the 4-year-old son of a Franklin County deputy. 
Franklin County Prosecutor Mel Wilhelm announced Tuesday through the Indiana State Police that his office would not seek charges in the Feb. 16 accidental shooting death of Aiden Mehlbauer. 
The preschooler's funeral was held Tuesday at the St. Louis Catholic Church in Batesville.
Last week, Aiden and twin brother Mason were playing in the basement when they found a loaded, .40-caliber semi-automatic Glock handgun in the "office" area where their father, Deputy Greg Mehlbauer, kept his uniforms and other law enforcement equipment. 
The boys were handling the gun when it discharged, striking Aiden in the abdomen, Indiana State Police Sgt. Noel Houze said. 
Aiden's mother, Shavonne, was upstairs helping her 6-year-old daughter with her homework and Greg Mehlbauer was on duty when the shooting occurred. Aiden died about 2 hours later at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. 
Indiana prosecutors often recuse themselves from cases involving local police officers with whom they work on a regular basis, but Wilhelm told the state police the circumstances surrounding the incident did not meet the elements of a crime under Indiana code. 
Wilhelm said he had carefully reviewed the state police reports and spoken at length with investigators concerning their findings in the case









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