State Rep. Ed DeLaney attacked in Carmel

CARMEL, Ind. (WISH) - A man is in jail Saturday night after police say he tried to kill an Indiana State Representative. Family members tell 24-Hour News 8,

Representative Ed DeLaney (D-Indianapolis) has several broken facial bones and cuts on his head. He’s in fair condition at Methodist Hospital.  The apparent murder attempt happened around 10:15 Saturday morning on Catherine Drive near West Main Street in Carmel.

In addition to being a lawmaker, 66-year-old DeLaney is also a commercial litigation attorney.

Carmel police say the suspect asked Ed DeLaney to come with him to check out some property. But family members believe the suspect could have been plotting some type of revenge. Several years ago, DeLaney was involved in litigation with Mendenhall’s father. The end result got Mendenhall’s porn shop evicted from Lafayette Square Mall.

-- Hear from Mendenhall and DeLaney by clicking on the video links in the left margin of the story

John and Cathy Palmer are two of the few residents who still live in the neighborhood where the attack happened. They say they were on their way to breakfast when they saw a car they didn’t recognize sitting on the side of the road.

“We stopped at the stop sign and looked up and saw the black car,” said John.

They thought it was someone up to no good, so they went to go check it out.

The Palmers started chatting with Ed DeLaney, who was sitting in the drivers seat. When suddenly Cathy realized she and DeLaney used to work together. The Palmers say the brief conversation was odd because DeLaney kept signaling them.

“All the while he was talking his finger was going down and up and he was winking at me and it was not like him,” Cathy explained.

“As soon as we got out of the line of sight we called 911,” added John.

When police arrived, they found 38-year-old suspect Augustus Mendenhall on top of DeLaney punching him in the face. Family members say Mendenhall had tried to shoot DeLaney first but the gun jammed. Police had to taze Mendenhall to get him under control.

The suspect, 38 year old Augustus J. Mendenhall from Indianapolis, was transported to Carmel Saint Vincent’s Hospital where he was checked out and released. He was then transported to the Hamilton County Jail where he is being held without bond.

Mendenhall is facing charges of Attempted Murder, Robbery, Aggravated Battery, Resisting Law Enforcement and Criminal Confinement.

A 25 cal. semi-auto handgun was recovered when Mendenhall was taken into custody.

Tim DeLaney, Ed's son, said, "The family is still trying to make sense of this inexplicable attack on our father who has spent his life serving others. We would like to thank the Carmel Police Department for their prompt response, the good Samaritan who alerted police, and Methodist Hospital for the wonderful care he's receiving. "