Ronald Lee McClure, 50, Indianapolis, was found guilty on 8 of 9 charges following a four-day trial on attempted murder and other charges.
HANCOCK COUNTY — Sitting in a corner of the courtroom, the victim was surrounded by family and friends, slowly shaking her head yes as Judge D. J. Davis read guilty verdict after guilty verdict. The woman let out a sigh of relief and bowed her head when Davis said “guilty” on the final and most serious charge against the defendant — attempted murder.
A jury of five women and seven men took less than two hours to find Ronald Lee McClure guilty on eight of nine counts against him including the attempted murder charge Friday, Feb. 25. The most serious charge against McClure carries up to 40 years in prison. He will be sentenced at 10 a.m. Friday, March 25 by Davis in Hancock County Superior Court 1.
McClure, 50, Indianapolis, was facing the charges stemming from a knife attack outside of a Speedway store at 5972 W. U.S. 40 in May, 2021. He was arrested near the Subway sandwich shop in Cumberland a day after the incident May, 9, 2021 and was in the county jail awaiting his day in court.
While McClure was present during all four days of court proceedings, including during state testimony and closing arguments, he refused to come to the court to hear the outcome of the trial.
“I can not, nor can anyone make him be present for the verdict,” Davis said.
McClure faced a Level 1 felony count of attempted murder; a Level 2 felony count of attempted kidnapping; a Level 3 felony count of armed robbery; a Level 5 felony count of stalking; a Level 6 felony count of criminal recklessness; two Level 6 felony counts of auto theft; and two misdemeanors. The jury found McClure guilty on all but one charge, count 7, one of the auto theft crimes.
“We’re just really gratified that we could do right by the victim in this case,” Prosecutor Brent Eaton said.
The jury was given approximately 109 pieces of evidence and 39 pages of instructions Friday to help them determine the fate of McClure.
Davis spent most of the morning Friday behind closed doors with council from the state and the defense ironing out legal questions before the two sides came back to the courtroom and presented their closing arguments to the jury.
In her closing argument for the state, Chief Deputy Prosecutor Aimee Herring laid out a detailed recap of the state’s case showing how she and Eaton believed they had proved McClure’s guilt on each of the nine different crimes he was facing.
“You are to decide this case based upon the facts that you’ve heard here,” Herring said.
During closing arguments, Herring talked about each of the charges McClure was facing from the least to most serious and walked the jury again through the numerous pieces of evidence the state presented connecting each charge to the defendant, noting the state’s burden was to convince the jury of McClure’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
“You saw him on video,” Herring said. “There is no doubt we’ve got the right guy.”
The state rested its case late Thursday, Feb. 23 after calling four final witnesses including a law enforcement official who testified to finding a tracking unit on the victim’s vehicle during their investigation as well as an application on the defendant’s phone for using the “spy tech” device. That, officials implied, is how McClure was able to find the victim at a county gas station.
After the state rested its case, it was defense attorney Jeff McClarnon’s time to present witnesses. However, McClarnon and his client had decided earlier in the trial to not put McClure on the stand, and the defense rested its case late Thursday. When asked about his client’s chances of testifying, McClarnon told the Daily Reporter he had “no comment” during the trial.
McClarnon did ask questions during the trial when the state presented witnesses and wanted specific details about the evidence the state brought forth before giving his closing argument Friday morning. That was followed by a rebuttal from Herring, who once again stressed the state’s case.
Davis then gave detailed instructions to the jury and sent them on their way to deliberate Friday afternoon around 1 p.m. They reported shortly before 3 p.m. that they had reached a verdict on all 9 counts.
Eaton noted the efforts of many in his office in securing the verdicts and thanked officials from the Hancock County Sheriff’s Department for their work on the case.
“We’re just really grateful for the work we were able to do as a team,” he said.
Immediately after the verdict, Herring and Eaton went to the victim, who was stabbed multiple times during her encounter with McClure last spring, and hugged her as she thanked them for their efforts.
“This is a good day,” she said as she walked out of the courtroom.
