Gun charges against Richmond woman stem from slaying probe
RICHMOND, Ind. — A Richmond woman arrested on murder, robbery and burglary charges continued to be held without bond in the Wayne County Jail on Tuesday.
Those formal charges against 25-year-old Erica Nicole Petry — believed to stem from a Richmond man's November 2022 shooting death in which police named her as a person of interest — were not yet visible Tuesday on a court website.
However, two gun-related charges pending against Petry since February 2023 stem from that homicide investigation.
In that case, Petry — also listed in court documents at an address in New Paris, Ohio — is charged with possession of an altered firearm and unlawful carrying of a handgun, both Level 5 felonies with maximum six-year sentences.
According to an affidavit, officers — hoping to interview Petry about the homicide — on Dec. 28, 2022 went to a home in the 6800 block of South U.S. 27, and heard a "bang" after knocking on the front door.
More: Richmond police, U.S. marshals arrest local woman on murder, robbery charges
Petry was then found in a bed, suffering from what was believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound "under the jaw," according to the probable cause affidavit.
Found at her side was a .380-caliber handgun that had been reported stolen from a Connersville home a few weeks earlier. The firearm's serial number had been "tampered with," according to the court documents.
Petry was flown from the scene by medical helicopter to a hospital in Dayton, Ohio.
A warrant for her arrest on the firearm charges was issued on Feb. 24, 2023.
Court records reflect she remained at large until she was arrested Saturday night at a home in the 1200 block of Northwest Fifth Street in Richmond.
The press release issued after her arrest, and the affidavit stemming from the gun charges, did not specify what homicide Petry had been linked to.
Douglas Walker is a news reporter at The Star Press. Contact him at 765-213-5851 or at dwalker@muncie.gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Muncie Star Press: Firearm charges against woman tied to Richmond homicide probe
