Noblesville school shooter's release nixed after he touched corrections employee's breast
Update: The 2018 Noblesville school shooter will be released from detention in Hamilton County by June 7, 2023, according to the Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office. He will then be detained by Madison County authorities until the disposition is reached in his battery case involving a Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility employee.
On the cusp of his supervised release from juvenile detention, the former student who opened fire at a Noblesville middle school in 2018 will be kept in custody after a corrections employee said he “fist-bumped” her breast.
The former student, who was 13 at the time of the shooting, had been in detention since shortly after he opened fire at Noblesville West Middle School on May 25, 2018. He shot a seventh-grade science teacher and another 13-year-old student. The teacher, Jason Seaman, cut the shooting short when he tackled the shooter and pinned him to the ground.
Seaman was shot three times, and the student, Ella Whistler, was shot seven times. No one was killed.
More: What we know now about Noblesville school shooting
Following his 18th birthday the shooter was scheduled to be released on home detention with GPS monitoring until he turned 21, the shooter's attorney Ben Jaffe said in court Thursday. But after the corrections employee testified about the fist bump incident, the shooter will now be remanded to the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center. He's also awaiting a psychological assessment.
“It does cause me much more concern today about the safety of the public and the community," Hamilton Circuit Judge Paul A. Felix said Thursday, adding that the shooter showed a "lack of maturity and a lack of understanding of all of the things that I'd hoped that you would learn."
At the hearing, the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility employee said the shooter “fist-bumped” her breast twice while he was in her office asking about commissary. She said she didn’t believe it was a sexual act, but she did think it was inappropriate and risked disrupting the balance of authority between corrections staff and detainees.
"Violated,” the employee said when asked by prosecutors how the incident made her feel.
More: Jason Seaman's mom: 'I fear not only for Jason, but also his wife and children' after ruling
Jaffe made the argument that his client's actions were “definitely inappropriate and … definitely undermined her position,” but he compared it to “goofing off.”
He asked for leniency from Felix, saying that more time in detention could end up having a detrimental effect on his chances of reassimilating to society. “There’s always going to be this lens on him,” Jaffe said.
Prosecutors argued that the shooter showed a lack of empathy after his actions. That lack of empathy, they said, suggested he's still a cause for concern.
“Was this an accident?” Hamilton County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Barb Trathen asked the court. “Not even close.”
Once his psychological assessment is completed, the court will reassess the shooter's future with the criminal justice system.
Call IndyStar courts reporter Johnny Magdaleno at 317-273-3188 or email him at jmagdaleno@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @IndyStarJohnny
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Noblesville school shooter will remain in custody, judge orders
