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Shooting suspect held on $50,000 cash bond for now
A 59-year-old rural Cloverdale man was formally charged with five felonies Friday afternoon in Putnam Circuit Court in connection with a March 25 shooting incident on his property along State Road 243 in southwestern Putnam County.
Judge Matt Headley entered preliminary not-guilty pleas on all charges for Robert E. Young, 7645 S. State Road 243, Cloverdale, in connection with the shooting of Jeffrey D. Perkins, 59, rural Greencastle, a contractor who had done roofing work at the Young residence that reportedly became the focal point of an earlier "run-in" between the two men, a probable cause affidavit filed in the case stated.
With Young appearing via video conference from the Putnam County Jail, Judge Headley read the five charges facing him:
-- Attempted voluntary manslaughter, a Level 2 felony punishable by 10-30 years in prison.
-- Aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony punishable by 3-16 years in prison.
-- Two separate counts of criminal confinement, also Level 3 felonies.
-- Pointing a firearm, a Level 6 felony, punishable by 6-18 months in prison.
Judge Headley asked Young if he understood the charges against him.
"I don't really understand why I'm being charged," Young offered.
That was not the question, the judge told the defendant. Headley wanted to make sure Young understood what the charges themselves meant, not whether he agreed with them.
"Yea," he responded, "I think I know what you guys are charging me with."
Headley stopped him short there. "Let me make it clear," the judge said, "I'm not one of 'you guys.' It's the State of Indiana through the Prosecutor's Office that is charging you with these crimes."
During a two-week investigation ISP investigators were able to determine that a disturbance arose over scaffolding Perkins was trying to retrieve from Young's property after working on the suspect's home.
After a confrontation, Young allegedly discharged a 9mm handgun in the direction of a 2002 Chevrolet pickup driven by Perkins, who was trying to leave the property.
The round traveled through the rear window, striking Perkins in the head, police said.
The probable cause affidavit indicates Young claimed the scaffolding as his property after being dissatisfied with work Perkins had done on his roof three years ago. He reportedly ordered the contractor to leave the property and never return after leaks in the roof went unrepaired.
When Perkins returned March 25, Young blocked him in with his pickup truck and placed a concrete block between the two vehicles, sitting down on it with a handgun in his left hand, court records note.
In a statement to police later that evening, Young said he never displayed the gun but did attempt to fire a warning shot as Perkins started to accelerate and Young feared the truck would strike him.
The gun fired accidentally, he claimed.
However, at the scene moments after the shooting, the suspect reportedly told responding ISP Trooper Yan Dravigne, "I think you need to call an ambulance 'cuz I did shoot him. Yes, sir, I did. I was sitting on that brick and he went to run me over, and I shot him in the head.
"I tried to kill the son of a bitch," Young is quoted as telling the officer in the probable cause affidavit. "I was just saving my property and my life."
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Justin Long asked that bond for Young be set at $50,000 cash only to be accompanied by a no-contact order with Perkins and his family along with Charles Masters, who was helping Perkins retrieve his scaffolding when the incident unfolded about 4 p.m. Friday, March 25.
The prosecution also asked that Young not be allowed to have any firearms in his possession or at his home.
Defense attorney Jeffrey Boggess, hired by the Young family, said the family has removed all firearms from the residence.
He called Young an avid outdoorsman who "lives in a very rural area and keeps guns for hunting and dealing with coyotes."
All the guns, he said, have been locked away in his son-in-law's gun safe with the exception of one antique that does not fire and is "more of a decoration at this point."
Boggess asked the court to consider a $30,000 bond with 10 percent allowable, noting that Young is in "poor health." The defendant has had a portion of his colon removed, which requires him to be on medication, while a spot of cancer was found on his prostate recently, Boggess explained.
In addition to Young's ill health, Boggess suggested the suspect's condition poses serious liability problems for the Putnam County Jail.
"We've got some pretty dang serious charges here," Judge Headley said in response.
Headley decided to keep the bond at $50,000 cash "for right now," setting a bond hearing in the case for 2:30 p.m. Tuesday, April 12 as "a more in-depth hearing."
In the meantime, Perkins remains in serious condition at St. Vincent Hospital, Indianapolis, where he was airlifted after being wounded.