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Judge pleads not guilty to charges from downtown fight

Judge pleads not guilty to charges from downtown fight

News 8 at 10 p.m.

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A southern Indiana judge pleaded not guilty Wednesday to charges related to a fight and shooting outside a downtown Indianapolis restaurant in May.

Clark Circuit Court 1 Judge Andrew Adams of Charlestown appeared in Marion Superior Court, Criminal Division 18, for an initial hearing. He is charged with two counts of battery resulting in moderate bodily injury, two counts of battery resulting in bodily injury, two counts of battery and a count of disorderly conduct. Online court records said Adams was to be released from custody.

The 47-year-old Democrat was elected to serve as the court’s judge through 2020. Last week, the Indiana Supreme Court officially filed Adams’ suspension with pay.

The judge was one of three men charged in connection to the shooting just before 3:30 a.m. May 1 in the parking lot of a White Castle restaurant in the first block of West South Street. That’s a block east of Lucas Oil Stadium. Adams and another Clark County judge suffered injuries in the shooting.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry last week announced charges were filed against Adams and Indianapolis residents Brandon Kaiser and Alfredo Vazquez.

Kaiser faces 14 charges, including battery, disorderly conduct and carrying a handgun without a license. His bond was set at $80,000. The 41-year-old was listed as “out of custody” from the Marion County Jail for community service on Wednesday night. Court records indicated Kaiser was placed on home detention with electronic monitoring.

Vazquez faces seven charges, including battery and disorderly conduct. An online listing did not record the 24-year-old as being jailed Wednesday night.

In court hearings, all three men were told to stay away from the downtown White Castle.

Adams, Clark Circuit Court 2 Judge Brad Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell went to the fast-food restaurant while visiting Indianapolis for a conference May 1. Police said Adams and Jacobs were shot after a sport-utility vehicle with Kaiser and Vazquez inside pulled into the White Castle parking lot. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department said Kaiser and Vazquez got out of the SUV and tried to go into the restaurant, but its door was locked. Words were exchanged between the men, and a physical fight broke out before Adams and Jacobs were shot. Kaiser and Vazquez got back into their SUV and drove away from the scene before police arrived.

Early in their investigation, police said they saw no evidence the judges were targeted because of their positions.

The exchange between the men and the car were recorded on surveillance video.

A pretrial conference for Adams was set for 8:30 a.m. Aug. 7.

Kaiser and Vazquez had initial hearings on Tuesday. Pretrial conferences for Kaiser and Vazquez were set for 9 a.m. Aug. 2 in Marion Superior Court, Criminal Division 2. Jury trials were scheduled for 9 a.m. Aug. 12.

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