Without rehab option, judge OKs Noblesville school shooter's conditional release to parents

Johnny Magdaleno, Indianapolis Star
·4 min read

A former student who shot and injured two people at a Noblesville middle school in 2018 is being released to his parents after Hamilton County authorities were unable to find a residential facility that would help ease his transition back into society.

During a hearing in the shooter's case Wednesday, a judge approved the shooter's release from juvenile detention because he's now an adult and could no longer be legally held for crimes he committed while a minor, according to Hamilton County Chief Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Joshua Kocher.

But that doesn't mean he's entirely free. He'll be on home detention with a GPS monitor.

'Violated': Noblesville school shooter's release nixed after he touched corrections employee's breast

He's also bound by a list of probation restrictions, including:

  • No guns or drugs

  • No computers, unless they can be monitored by probation

  • Limited time on electronic devices

  • Cannot go to schools or college campuses without prior approval

Those limits are in place "to ensure the safety of the community," Kocher stated. The chief deputy didn't say what date the shooter would be let out.

IndyStar has requested comment from the shooter's attorney, Ben Jaffe.

What happened at 2018 Noblesville school shooting

The shooter has been detained since he opened fire at Noblesville West Middle School on May 25, 2018, as a 13-year-old student. He shot and wounded two people: another 13-year-old student and a seventh-grade science teacher.

The teacher, Jason Seaman, cut the attack short when he tackled the shooter to the ground.

IndyStar is not naming the shooter because he was charged as a juvenile.

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The shooter was scheduled to be freed from custody with a GPS monitor when he turned 18 earlier this year but his release was jeopardized when a corrections employee at the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility said he "fist-bumped" her breast.

The allegation launched a criminal investigation that ended with the shooter accepting responsibility in July for battery against a public safety official — a Level 6 felony if he were charged as an adult.

In August, Hamilton Superior Judge Michael Casati found that the shooter wasn't ready to be let out because he still posed a risk to the community. Casati, a temporary judge on the shooter's case, ordered he receive additional rehabilitation at a residential facility.

That didn't happen.

"The State requested that he be (placed) in a residential treatment facility," Koch said Wednesday, "but there were no appropriate facilities available."

'A risk to the community': Noblesville school shooter needs more rehabilitation, judge says

Earlier this year prosecutors pushed back on his potential freedom, saying the battery incident raised red flags about his lack of empathy. The corrections employee said during an April hearing she felt "violated," though she didn't think the two "fist bumps" were sexual.

Jaffe said at that hearing his actions were inappropriate but compared them to "goofing off." He said keeping him away from his family risked undermining his integration into society.

“There’s always going to be this lens on him,” Jaffe said.

Casati noted in August the shooter underwent a youth assessment in Madison County — where the battery took place — that found he was at a high risk to reoffend. Another doctor had determined the shooter had a low to moderate risk of committing violence, but Casati said he disagreed with that take given the assessment in Madison County and the shooter's history.

Retired Hamilton County prosecutor concerned by the decision

Barb Trathen, the former Hamilton County chief deputy prosecutor who oversaw a portion of the shooter's case this year, was working on her lawn at her Noblesville home when IndyStar called and broke the news to her.

She let out a loud sigh.

In April, Trathen stood in front of Hamilton Circuit Judge Paul A. Felix and gave an impassioned argument about why his actions against the corrections department employee signaled it was too soon to send the shooter back into the public.

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Trathen retired in September. But the judge's decision on Wednesday still hit home.

"That's what we were kind of holding our breath on," she said. "We were hoping that somebody would accept him ... Obviously it would have been far better for him."

Without a rehabilitation facility on board to take him in, the judge's only real alternative was to release him, Trathen said. "Juvenile law leaves you very few options by this point when you've turned 18," she added.

She stands by the plea she made in front of Felix earlier this year.

"What I've seen," she added, "I don't think rehabilitation has occurred."

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 West Middle School shooter to be released from detention