Brad Trittipo
Regular Member
Shelby County Indiana
Frederick Dewon Charles, 37, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced to 60 years in prison today for 6 counts of Attempted Murder, 2 counts of Criminal Mischief, and one count of Resisting Law Enforcement. Judge Kent Apsley ordered Charles to serve 50 years in prison, which will be followed by 10 years on probation.
The charges stem from an incident on west State Road 44 on February 7, 2021. Charles had traveled from Michigan and was livestreaming that he was about to do "something really big", and claiming that he was unarmed (though you could clearly hear him loading ammunition into a magazine). He claimed that the police had been after him for quite a while, and said that he was going to be famous and that people would know his name. He warned his followers not to let the children watch what he was about to do. He then stopped livestreaming and began stopping traffic and shooting at the people in the cars. He eventually jumped onto the hood of one car and tried to shoot the driver, but the gun was out of ammunition (he dropped a box of ammo onto the hood of the car accidentally). That driver took off - flipping Charles over the car. He then threw that gun aside and got another gun and resumed his attack. Several vehicles were struck by the bullets, but miraculously, no people were actually struck by the bullets. When that gun was empty, Charles waited for police to arrive, rammed his vehicle through an overhead door on a barn, and began driving through the cornfield, while police tried to stop him. Officers were eventually able to ram his vehicle off the road with the SWAT response truck. Officers then took him into custody.
Charles livestreamed the chase, and was clearly hoping to gain fame in setting up for police to shoot him after he claimed to be unarmed (and after he had thrown both pistols to the side of State Road 44), so that people would "know (his) name".
The victims reported various effects from the incident other than the damage to their vehicles. Some become very nervous driving on that part of State Road 44. Some become frightened when they see a car stopped alongside the roadway. Some were too frightened to attend the sentencing hearing today.
I commend how the victims and public handled the situation that day, and certainly commend our local law enforcement officers for how they handled this incredibly dangerous situation that day. Some have asked how Charles picked Shelby County. Based on his statements on his livestreaming (such as that he had to leave Michigan after an incident, and not knowing where he was), we believe he did not "pick" Shelby County, but just happened to be here when he decided to carry out his deadly plan.
Charles was represented by Indianapolis attorney Ralph Staples.
Frederick Dewon Charles, 37, from Grand Rapids, Michigan, was sentenced to 60 years in prison today for 6 counts of Attempted Murder, 2 counts of Criminal Mischief, and one count of Resisting Law Enforcement. Judge Kent Apsley ordered Charles to serve 50 years in prison, which will be followed by 10 years on probation.
The charges stem from an incident on west State Road 44 on February 7, 2021. Charles had traveled from Michigan and was livestreaming that he was about to do "something really big", and claiming that he was unarmed (though you could clearly hear him loading ammunition into a magazine). He claimed that the police had been after him for quite a while, and said that he was going to be famous and that people would know his name. He warned his followers not to let the children watch what he was about to do. He then stopped livestreaming and began stopping traffic and shooting at the people in the cars. He eventually jumped onto the hood of one car and tried to shoot the driver, but the gun was out of ammunition (he dropped a box of ammo onto the hood of the car accidentally). That driver took off - flipping Charles over the car. He then threw that gun aside and got another gun and resumed his attack. Several vehicles were struck by the bullets, but miraculously, no people were actually struck by the bullets. When that gun was empty, Charles waited for police to arrive, rammed his vehicle through an overhead door on a barn, and began driving through the cornfield, while police tried to stop him. Officers were eventually able to ram his vehicle off the road with the SWAT response truck. Officers then took him into custody.
Charles livestreamed the chase, and was clearly hoping to gain fame in setting up for police to shoot him after he claimed to be unarmed (and after he had thrown both pistols to the side of State Road 44), so that people would "know (his) name".
The victims reported various effects from the incident other than the damage to their vehicles. Some become very nervous driving on that part of State Road 44. Some become frightened when they see a car stopped alongside the roadway. Some were too frightened to attend the sentencing hearing today.
I commend how the victims and public handled the situation that day, and certainly commend our local law enforcement officers for how they handled this incredibly dangerous situation that day. Some have asked how Charles picked Shelby County. Based on his statements on his livestreaming (such as that he had to leave Michigan after an incident, and not knowing where he was), we believe he did not "pick" Shelby County, but just happened to be here when he decided to carry out his deadly plan.
Charles was represented by Indianapolis attorney Ralph Staples.