Indiana Judge Apologizes For Fight That Led To His Shooting

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (AP) — A southern Indiana judge is apologizing for a fight outside an Indianapolis fast-food restaurant during which he and another judge were shot and seriously wounded.

Clark County Circuit Judge Andrew Adams pleaded guilty last year to one misdemeanor battery charge in a plea agreement with Marion County prosecutors, who dismissed two felony counts he had faced. Adams received a one-year suspended sentence.

He and fellow Clark County judge Brad Jacobs were shot and seriously wounded during a May 1, 2019, fight that followed a night of bar-hopping as they were in Indianapolis for a judicial conference.

The fight and shooting also led to charges against two other men, including Brandon Kaiser, who's accused of shooting the two judges. His trial on 14 charges is scheduled to start March 16.

Adams, Jacobs and Crawford Circuit Judge Sabrina Bell were temporarily suspended as part of disciplinary action taken by the Indiana Supreme Court in response to the judicial misconduct they were found to have committed. All three have since been reinstated.

Adams said he was limited in what he could say publicly before his reinstatement, but that he now wanted to apologize for the incident, the News and Tribune reported.

“I’m sincerely sorry it happened,” he said. “The incidents of May 1 by no means define me as a person, definitely not a judge.

“Everybody says ‘Would you change anything?’ Obviously I would have went back to the room earlier if I could change anything,” Adams said.