May 28 jury trial set in attempted murder case
It may have taken eight months for a 43-year-old Putnam County man to be charged with attempted murder for allegedly shooting a motorcyclist in the head last July, but his case could come to trial in about a quarter of that time.
Douglas Lee "Bam" Allsup Sr. of Greencastle -- who faces charges of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, and aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, in the July 24, 2018 shooting of Christopher R. Jordan, 47, Greencastle -- made his initial appearance Thursday morning in Putnam Circuit Court.
Judge Matt Headley subsequently ordered a jury trial to be conducted a little more than two months after Allsup's arrest, setting the date for the Circuit Court proceedings as 8:30 a.m. May 28.
Local attorney Sid Tongret has been appointed as Allsup's legal counsel with a pretrial conference in the case scheduled for 9 a.m. on May 16.
A no-contact order was also issued against Allsup relative to the victim Jordan, who is reportedly undergoing physical therapy following a long hospital stay due to his injuries.
Charges were filed last Monday against Allsup in connection with an incident initially believed to have been a motorcycle accident after Jordan was found lying near the intersection of North Jackson and Frazier streets on Greencastle's North Side with a significant head injury blamed on the crash.
After Jordan was taken via Stat Flight helicopter to St. Vincent Hospital at Indianapolis, however, a forensic nurse discovered the victim had actually suffered a gunshot wound to his head.
Allsup was already in jail when charged in the July 24 case. He has been in the Putnam County Jail since Aug. 3, held on charges of theft and auto theft, both Level 6 felonies.
He now faces charges of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, punishable by 20-40 years in prison, and aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, punishable by 3-16 years in prison.
A probable cause affidavit filed in the case notes that Allsup has "advised he did, in fact, shoot Chris Jordan with a high-point .45 caliber handgun."
That reportedly occurred after he followed the victim from a residence at U.S. 231 and U.S. 40 to the Frazier Street location, presumably to confront Jordan about an ongoing disagreement. When reportedly he told Jordan to get off the motorcycle, Allsup said Jordan allegedly swerved toward him and Allsup stepped aside and fired the handgun, wounding Jordan in the head.
The gun used in the shooting, Allsup said, was later thrown into a river along the way to Indianapolis. The handgun had been stolen from Jordan when Allsup also allegedly stole the victim's motorcycle in Bainbridge on July 7, 2018, court records note.