INDIANAPOLIS — A man convicted of shooting two southern Indiana judges during a fight outside an Indianapolis fast food restaurant in 2019 was sentenced Friday to eight years in prison.
A Marion County judge sentenced Brandon Kaiser to 16 years, with eight years to be served in prison followed by six years of probation, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office said.
A jury convicted Kaiser last month of aggravated battery, multiple battery-related charges and carrying a handgun without a license. He was acquitted on one count of battery resulting in moderate bodily injury.
Clark County Circuit judges Brad Jacobs and Andrew Adams were shot in the early morning hours of May 1, 2019. Another judge, Sabrina Bell of Crawford County, was with Jacobs and Adams when they were shot outside of a downtown Indianapolis White Castle restaurant.
Kaiser claimed he was acting in self-defense against the group of judges, who were in town for a conference, and court documents claimed Bell flipped off Kaiser and his nephew.
“This dispute should have never occurred and ultimately led to significant and lasting consequences for all involved,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement.
Adams pleaded guilty to a battery charge in September 2019 and received a one-year suspended sentence.
The Indiana Commission of Judicial Qualifications filed disciplinary charges against the three judges involved. Jacobs and Bell were reinstated to the bench in December 2019 after serving 30-day suspensions. Adams served a 60-day suspension.
Bell resigned from the bench on July 15 after the Indiana Supreme Court suspended her when a special prosecutor filed felony charges against her related to a domestic dispute.
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