LAFAYETTE, IN — Raylen Ferguson, the suspected shooter of Tippecanoe Superior 2 Judge Steve Meyer and his wife, Kim, will either be tried in late August or early November.
Ferguson, 38, of Lexington, Kentucky, is one of four defendants charged with three counts of attempted murder and conspiracy to commit murder. The other defendants are Thomas Moss, Blake Smith and Nevaeh Bell. The motive for the Jan. 18 shooting was to postpone Moss’ Jan. 20 trial in Meyer’s court, according to prosecutors.
The Meyers survived their wounds.
Ferguson’s attorneys, David Shircliff and Michael Diehl, both said their schedules can accommodate the Aug. 25 trial date, but the volume of evidence might take longer to decipher.
Ferguson’s defense team has until June 30 to file for a motion to postpone the trial. But Special Judge Lisa Swaim made it clear: Ferguson’s trial will be completed before the end of the year.
As a backup, Swaim, the prosecutors, Shircliff and Diehl agreed on Nov. 2 as the day to pick a jury from Tippecanoe County. If they cannot seat an impartial jury here, a jury selection is scheduled with potential jurors from Cass County for Nov. 3 — Election Day.
The opening statements and evidence begins on Nov. 4. The trial is scheduled to run through Nov. 20, if needed.
Ferguson objects to gag order
After the logistics were out of the way in Ferguson’s hearing on Tuesday, the judge turned her attention to last week’s order to remove an online survey posted on social media. The judge’s order bars comments to the public or media from legal counsel, the judge, the family members tied to the case.
As discussed last week during Moss’ hearing, and as pleaded in Smith’s objection to a gag order, the survey was a shared venture by Moss, Smith and Ferguson’s attorneys. It was paid for by the Tippecanoe County public defenders office, Shircliff said.
Shircliff objected Tuesday during the hearing to Swaim’s order to take down the survey. He also objected to the gag order.
“You’ve ordered a cease and desist of an investigator that has been hired to work towards our client’s right to a fair trial, which is encompassed in the constitution,” Shircliff said.
“You’ve basically made a ruling and made an order not based on evidence, but based on allegations the prosecutor has made,” Shircliff said. “You don’t know whether the survey is fair or not fair. You don’t know whether it’s invasive, causing prejudice or not. But you ordered an investigation by defense to cease without having a hearing of evidence.”
Swaim corrected Shircliff that the suspension of the survey was brought after Swaim learned of the survey through a motion made by Moss’ team, not from the prosecutors.
“I suspended the survey to make sure that we’re not going to destroy the venire in allowing you to continue with it,” Swaim said. “I didn’t say you couldn’t, at some point, continue with it. I did say we’re going to hold off on this until I can have a hearing.”
To Shircliff’s point, Swaim said she will set a hearing to hear from all three defendants’ attorneys, as well as the former FBI investigator who created the survey.
‘That hearing will be July 9, and it also will include motions by the defendants for a change of venue and motions for a special prosecutor.
Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Suspected gunman’s trial in judge’s shooting will not be postponed into 2027
Reporting by Ron Wilkins, Lafayette Journal & Courier / Lafayette Journal & Courier
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