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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA southern Indiana judge who faces felony battery charges stemming from a May 1 fight outside a fast-food restaurant in which he and another judge were shot and wounded is “prepared to proceed through the legal process.”
The Courier-Journal of Louisville reported that lawyer Larry Wilder issued a statement on behalf of Clark County Judge Andrew Adams in response to the grand jury indictments against Adams and two others who were allegedly involved in the confrontation outside of a White Castle in downtown Indianapolis.
Adams and another Clark County judge who wasn’t indicted, Bradley Jacobs, were wounded while in Indianapolis for a work-related conference. The statement says Adams continues to work toward “full physical recovery.”
Adams and Alfredo Vazquez of Indianapolis were charged with felony battery and other misdemeanors. The alleged gunman, Brandon Kaiser, also was charged with 14 counts including eight felony counts of battery.
Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry announced the charges from a grand jury indictment at a news conference Friday, almost two months after the shooting and seven weeks after Kaiser and Vazquez initially walked free from the Marion County Jail after Curry declined to immediately press charges.
The same day criminal charges were announced against Adams, Kaiser and Vazquez, the Indiana Supreme Court immediately suspended Judge Adams with pay, pursuant to court rules when a judicial officer is charged with a felony. The Commission on Judicial Qualifications requested Adams’ suspension.
Famed Indianapolis criminal defense attorneys James Voyles and Jennifer Lukemeyer have entered appearances to represent Adams in his criminal case, according to online court records. Neither Voyles nor Lukemeyer immediately responded to messages seeking comment Tuesday.
The Indiana Supreme Court has appointed judges pro tem to serve in Adams' and Jacobs' courtrooms in Jeffersonville. Neither has presided on the bench since their May 1 shootings as they were in Indianapolis for the Spring Judicial Conference.
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