Two judges eating at White Castle after a convention are attacked and shot. They are in stable condition.
Indianapolis police have arrested Alfredo Vazquez, 23, and Brandon Kaiser, 41, in connection with the May 1 shooting of two judges who were in the city to attend a judicial conference. The men were booked into the Marion County Jail and are accused of shooting and wounding Clark County judges Bradley Jacobs and Andrew Adams during a White Castle visit. They have received “exceptional hospital care,” and are now in stable condition.
Kaiser, who allegedly pulled the trigger, apparently “barricaded himself in his home for more than three hours before surrendering,” according to police reports. He is accused of shooting Adams once in the stomach and Jacobs twice in the chest.
The shooting happened in the parking lot of a White Castle that the judges had visited after bar hopping in the area. A third person with the group of judges was in the White Castle, and a fourth was with them outside when Vazquez and Kaiser approached them and incited a physical fight before the shooting.
Police released video of the suspects’ SUV after the incident. Evidently, they had been kicked out of a local bar before the shooting. Vazquez paid his tab at the bar with a credit card, which ultimately led the police to him. Vazquez told police he had been at the bar, and he and Kaiser had gotten into a fight at the White Castle with two people he didn’t know. He identified Kaiser as the shooter.
Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael said of the initial reported incidents, that other judges who were with Adams and Jacobs and she was told that “certain reports circulating about the event are inaccurate.”
Vazquez initially was charged with assisting a criminal, while Kaiser was initially charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery, carrying a handgun without a license, and battery.
An attorney acting as spokesperson for the judges’ families, Larry Wilder, said Adams would be able to recover and return home shortly, but Jacobs “will have a longer road to recovery.” Wilder said, “The families are relieved that the suspects were arrested without harming any police officers” and added, “All that counts is there’s an allegation that two of our own were in a place where someone tried to kill them and take their lives. All the other facts bore me…I find them to be insignificant and irrelevant to what is important.”
Indiana Chief Justice Loretta Rush visited with the families of both judges while they were recovering from their injuries, and Kathryn Dolan, a spokesperson for the Indiana Supreme Court, issued a statement saying, “Our judges across the state are heartbroken to learn of this violent act against our colleagues. We send our prayers for a speedy recovery for both Judge Jacobs and Judge Adams and our love and support to their families and the Clark County community.”
Both judges were elected to their positions in 2014 and are described as being “held in high regard.” Police said they have not found any evidence to suggest the judges were targeted by the men specifically because of their occupations in the judicial system. They were just at the wrong place at the wrong time.
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2 judges attending judicial conference are shot and wounded in White Castle parking lot
Police: 2 judges were shot in White Castle parking lot after ‘physical fight’ with group
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