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McGuff, suspect in Greencastle shooting, Brazil murder, back in custody
After four days on the lam, a Reelsville man accused of a recent Greencastle shooting and a 2023 Brazil murder is in police custody.
In a cooperative action between the Greencastle Police Department and the Putnam County Sheriff’s Office Wednesday afternoon, Jon Luke McGuff, 26, Reelsville, was captured in Greencastle.
“Our suspect from the shooting over the weekend has been taken into custody without incident,” GPD Asst. Chief Ed Wilson told the Banner Graphic.
Wilson noted that police acted on a tip as to where McGuff was hiding and the two agencies worked together to serve an arrest warrant signed Tuesday by Putnam Circuit Court Judge Matthew Headley.
McGuff was booked in the Putnam County Jail at 4 p.m. on Wednesday.
In the current case, McGuff is accused of shooting Carlie Capps III of Greencastle while also robbing his Castlebury apartment Saturday morning, Feb. 24 then fleeing in Capps’ vehicle.
His Putnam County charges, filed in Circuit Court Monday by Prosecutor Tim Bookwalter and Chief Deputy Prosecutor Austin Malayer, include Level 2 felony robbery with a deadly weapon, Level 3 felony aggravated battery, Level 3 felony robbery resulting in bodily injury, Level 5 felony criminal recklessness and Level 6 felony auto theft.
McGuff made his initial appearance in Putnam Circuit Court on Thursday morning, with Judge Headley entering a not-guilty plea on his behalf and upholding the $100,000 bond he set when he signed the arrest warrant.
Trudy Selvia was appointed as McGuff’s public defender.
Also arrested with McGuff was 31-year-old Skyler H. Pintor of Fillmore. Pintor was preliminarily charged with Level 3 felony aggravated battery, Level 3 felony robbery resulting in bodily injury and Level 6 felony auto theft.
Pintor was lodged at the Putnam County Jail at 6:23 p.m. Wednesday. According to jail documents, his bond amount is $30,000.
As of Thursday morning, the police report on Pintor’s role in the incident had not been turned over to the Putnam County Prosecutor’s office, so no formal charges had been filed.
In Clay County, McGuff, whose address has also been listed as Brazil in some court filings over the last nine months, was charged and arrested in the May 11, 2023 shooting death of William Matherly, 48, Cloverdale. In that case, his charges include murder and two Class A misdemeanors for unlawful carrying of a handgun.
While McGuff made his initial court appearances in the case, he was ultimately released from the Clay County Justice Center because Clay Circuit Court Judge Robert Pell set his jury trial date for Dec. 18, which lies outside of the 180-day speedy trial window guaranteed by Indiana Supreme Court Trial Rule 4. Pell signed the order for his release on Dec. 15.
For Greencastle residents, the incident brings to mind the January 2020 killing of Lisa Attkisson. In that case, Attkisson’s murderer John Gonzalez had been released from incarceration in Vigo County due to an error.
Fortunately in the current situation, the second shooting did not ultimately involve the death of the latest victim.
Greencastle police were called to the apartment around 8 a.m. Saturday to find a male victim, identified as Capps, who had been shot, with his apartment robbed and two men having fled the scene with his car.
The victim identified his shooter as Jon Luke McGuff, telling GPD Sgt. Zach Rhine that he had gone to high school with McGuff and had prior dealings with him, including an incident in which McGuff kicked down his door about a month ago. Pintor was not identified in the initial police report.
Capps and others in his apartment say that two men knocked on the door then hid themselves from the view of the peephole. When the victim opened the door, they rushed him. The fight spilled into the living room and a firearm was discharged two or three times, according to another man in the apartment.
One of these shots entered the victim’s body in the left clavicle area and exited the right side of this neck/throat area. Police recovered a .25 caliber shell casing at the scene.
After overpowering Capps, McGuff and Pintor allegedly carried him to the back bedroom of the apartment before returning to the living room and demanding phones, wallets and keys from everyone present.
They fled the scene in the victim’s car, a 2005 white Dodge Neon SXT with Indiana license plate number CJR450.
On Wednesday morning, Clay County Prosecutor Emily Bookwalter Clarke filed a petition to revoke McGuff’s release, and a Clay County warrant was also issued for his arrest.
It is not clear when McGuff will be transported to Clay County for his ongoing proceedings. The next calendar date for that case is a reset April 22 jury trial. For now, he remains lodged at the Putnam County Jail.
In Putnam County, Judge Headley set an April 25 pretrial conference date, at which time a jury trial date is likely to be set.
If convicted of all charges in Clay County, McGuff could face up to 67 years in prison. Meanwhile in Putnam County, the charges carry a maximum combined sentence of 70 years. Pintor’s charges carry a sentencing range of up to 32 years.
It should also be noted that while there was speculation that a high-speed chase through Clay and Vigo counties Wednesday morning was related to this case, that suspect was actually a Pennsylvania man, 30-year-old Bryan Shanholtz, who allegedly attempted to rob the Advance Auto Parts store in Brazil.