Jury finds man guilty of attempted murder of THPD officer
Apr. 16—A Vigo County jury found Jeremy Ross guilty of one count attempted murder of a Terre Haute police officer during a traffic stop that turned violent in March 2020.
After about four hours of deliberation Thursday, the jury found Ross guilty of the Level 1 felony during a struggle over a handgun with Officer Justin Gant, a four-year veteran of Terre Haute Police Department.
The jury did not find Ross guilty of attempted murder against Sgt. Adam Loudermilk, who was one of four officers involved in the incident outside a Circle K gas station on Wabash Avenue east of Terre Haute.
The jury also found Ross guilty on charges of possession of an altered handgun, resisting law enforcement and misdemeanor charges of possessing a look-alike substance and possession of paraphernalia.
Defense attorney Matthew Daley told the jury in closing arguments that Ross admitted to the firearm and misdemeanor drug charges during his testimony Thursday afternoon.
But Daley said the attempted murder charges should have been filed against Officer Daniel Johnson and Sgt. Loudermilk, who together shot Ross five times during the late night incident.
On the witness stand, Ross claimed he had no intention of shooting Officer Gant and was not trying to struggle with Gant over the handgun that Gant felt in Ross's jacket pocket.
Ross said he was only trying to unbuckle his seat belt to get out of the van, and that is why he reached down to his left side three times. Ross said he was confused by the officers' commands to show his hands if they wanted him to unbuckle to get out of the van
Ross claimed he did not have his hand on the silver .25-caliber handgun in his left jacket pocket. He claimed Gant found it and Ross just reacted and put his hand up to pull down his jacket.
"We were tugging and tugging," Ross said, explaining that Gant was leaning through the passenger window and was in his face shouting.
"Next thing I know, Gant is gone and I see a flash. I felt a pain in my chest."
During three days of testimony, the jury saw video from the gas station and from the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology campus that captured the traffic stop and the minutes of the conflict.
Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Roberts used the time stamps of the video to show the incident played out over several minutes, with the officer's initial interactions with Ross and the van's driver appearing to be routine.
Defense attorney Daley argued police collaborated on their statements of the incident to cover up a bad shooting by the officers. Daley called van driver Shannon Yocum as a witness Thursday.
She said she and Ross had been hanging out together that day, including a few hours at the Woodridge Motel on the city's east side. Yocum said she was taking Ross to his grandmother's house and they planned to stop at the Circle K to get milk and eggs.
Officer Johnson, however, initiated a traffic stop on the van as it approached the convenience store, so Yocum pulled in to the parking lot near Wabash Avenue.
She said Officer Johnson was aggressive early in the encounter, and the other officers also seemed intent on harming Ross.
Roberts pointed out inconsistencies in her testimony compared to the statement she gave police the night of the shooting.
He also reviewed a transcript of a record phone call Yocum had with Ross when he was lodged in the Vigo County Jail. She agreed with Ross that she "had his back" when it came to her testimony about the incident.
Ross testified he was taking some of his belongings to a relative's house for storage to get the items — including several knives, two handguns and some drug-related items — out of his house because his young daughter was learning to walk.
Ross said he carried the two handguns in his pockets, but had placed the larger 9mm Hi Point, which was fully loaded, between he front seats of the van when he got in the van because it was too large for his pants pocket.
Police found that the smaller handgun in Ross's jacket pocket was fully loaded and had the safety on. In the struggle over that smaller handgun, Gant claimed he shoved his finger in the trigger guard to prevent Ross from firing the gun. Gant said he thought he felt Ross trying to squeeze the trigger. As it turns out, however, Gant later found out he was mistaken about getting his finger behind the trigger, he testified.
Attorney Daley said Gant's statement was a fabrication to justify the struggle and shooting.
Following the jury's verdict, Ross admitted to the habitual offender status that was pending. The jury did not know about Ross's criminal history, which includes a felony drug conviction in Minnesota.
Sentencing for Ross is now set for 9 a.m. June 25 in Vigo Superior Court 3.
He faces a potential sentence of 67 years in prison, including the additional years of the habitual offender enhancement.
Editor's note: The Tribune-Star's story in Thursday's edition did not contain testimony from the defense cross examination of Officer Justin Grant. The reporter, not in the courtroom, lost the audio/video feed.
