5 arrested in shooting of Indiana judge and his wife

Police officials in Lafayette, Indiana, have arrested five people in connection with the shootings of a prominent local judge and his wife five days ago. Officials said in court documents that the attack was part of a plot to murder the judge in order to delay the trial of one of the alleged conspirators in another case.

The allegations, described in court documents released Friday, indicate that police also believe that the shooting of the judge, Steven P. Meyer of Tippecanoe County Superior Court, and his wife, Kimberly, was a gang-related crime.

In the attack Sunday, police said, a man went to the door of the couple’s house in Lafayette, claiming to have lost a dog. When the judge and his wife came to the entryway of the house, the man shot them through the door, police said.

Meyer, 66, who was struck in the arm, is hospitalized and recovering. His wife was treated for a leg injury and released.

Of the five people who have been arrested, three – Thomas Moss, 43, and Blake Smith, 32, both of Lafayette, and Raylen Ferguson, 38, of Lexington, Kentucky – have been charged with attempted murder and other crimes.

The charges included a “gang enhancement,” according to the Lafayette police. Under Indiana law, that enhancement, which can result in a longer sentence, is invoked in cases where the state believes that crimes were committed “as part of, or to benefit, a criminal gang.”

An affidavit filed in the case said Moss and Ferguson were involved in a criminal gang called Vice Lords, while Moss and Smith were connected with the Phantom Motorcycle Club, which the affidavit identified as an “outlaw” club.

Moss is a defendant in a long-running case in Meyer’s court, which involves charges lodged in 2024 of shooting into a building, domestic battery and unlawful possession of a firearm. A trial in that case had been scheduled to start Tuesday, two days after the shooting.

A lawyer for Moss, Benjamin Jaffe of Indianapolis, could not be reached for comment Friday.

The other two people arrested in connection with the shooting of the judge and his wife are Amanda Milsap, 45, of Lafayette, and Zenada Greer, 61, of Lexington. They face charges including obstruction of justice.

It was not clear Friday whether any of the defendants other than Moss had legal representation.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.