Reese found guilty of trying to kill IMPD officer

PORTER COUNTY, Ind. (WISH) - A Porter County jury has found Brian Reese, 37, guilty of trying to kill IMPD officer Jason Fishburn. Reese fired the shots that nearly killed Fishburn as he chased Reese through an Indianapolis neighborhood in July of 2008. Officer Fishburn said the verdict made him "very happy."

An emotional Fishburn family joined Marion County Prosecutor Carl Brizzi in front of the media following the verdict.

Brizzi said Brian Reese actually helped the prosecution's case by taking the stand.

"I don't think (Reese) came across as credible. I think he came across as very rehearsed and couldn't answer the tough questions in terms of how he fired that gun," said Brizzi.

Officer Fishburn's wife, Tanya, said that by sitting through the trial the family received answers to a lot of questions they had about what happened the day Reese shot Jason Fishburn. Tanya added that she and Jason are ready to put the case behind them and move on with their lives.

Jason Fishburn's father, Sgt. Dennis Fishburn, also stepped forward to speak to the media. Sgt. Fishburn became emotional while crediting Prosecutor Brizzi for his role in the case.

"(Brizzi) kept a promise to me, a dad, in a hospital, concerned about losing his son. And he told me. 'I will be there for you'," said Sgt. Fishburn.

Officer Fishburn himself could be seen tearing up as his father recalled telling him that he "did everything right."

After more than a week of testimony and more than forty witnesses, the jury took less than two hours to come to the verdict.

Reese was also found guilty of fleeing law enforcement and having a gun without a permit.

Jury deliberations in the case began Tuesday afternoon. Judge Borges read her instructions to the 7 men, 5 women and 2 alternates.

The defense argued Reese was guilty of the lesser charge of aggravated battery, not intentional murder. Aggravated battery has a sentence of up to 20 years.

But the prosecution countered saying Brian Reese had every intention of killing Officer Fishburn, saying the idea that he was shooting over his shoulder and, as Reese testified, "I wasn't shooting at nothing" is a lie concocted after the fact.

In closing arguments, Prosecutor Brizzi told the jury Reese's story was ridiculous and a lie. The jury believed Brizzi.

One of the jurors, Diane Piemann, said, "Probably the closing arguments for the prosecution really settled it for the majority of the jury."

Another juror, Jim Waters, said, "Since Jason couldn't speak for himself, all we had to go by was the defendant and it just wasn't believable."

Defense attorney David Shircliff said he felt had had no choice but to put Reese on the stand.

"At the point in time we put Brian on the stand, we had been harmed in such a way that we didn't feel like there was any way to recover. That's why we decided to put him on the stand," said Shircliff.

The defense plans to appeal, claiming that statements made to the jury about Reese being wanted on a homicide charge were unconstitutional.

For Jason Fishburn, there is no appeal. His life has changed forever.

Reese will be sentenced on December 4. He could get 50 years in prison.

Gun Charge

After the verdict, the prosecution asked Judge Lisa Borges to "bump up" the gun permit charge from a misdemeanor to a felony. The same jury is now listening to testimony in that part of the trial.

The prosecution asked for the change because it would add a potential of an additional eight years to Reese's sentence. Reese faces up to 50 years for the charges on which he has already been convicted.

Reese's Girlfriend Testifies

Before closing arguments began, the prosecution called Reese’s girlfriend, Lana Bishop, to the stand for a rebuttal argument.

Reese testified Monday that he didn’t know he was a suspect in a homicide when police came to his door on July 10.

The prosecution said to Bishop, “Brian Reese told you he was a suspect in a homicide case.”

“Yes,” said Bishop.

Then she said not exactly in those words.

With that, the defense asked for a mistrial saying the prosecution violated the court’s order not to go too in depth into the homicide charges. The judge denied the motion for mistrial saying Reese had already brought it up and Lana Bishop was just rebutting his previous testimony.