Tiquest Jaquan Meyers, 26, Indianapolis
HANCOCK COUNTY — A plea agreement was accepted by a county judge earlier this week, keeping an attempted murder case from going to trial in Hancock County Superior Court 1.
Tiquest Jaquan Meyers, 26, 5100 block of E. 42nd Street, had been charged with a Level 1 felony count of attempted murder and a Level 5 felony count of criminal recklessness where a defendant shoots a firearm into a building from an incident on May 8, 2022.
While the case ended in a different criminal charge and a plea agreement, Meyers still has a long stint to serve before his legal troubles are behind him after Judge D.J. Davis handed down a 10-year term, the maximum sentence available according to the plea agreement.
The Sunday Mother Day’s shooting in 2022, where multiple shots were fired into a Fortville home, left one man critically injured after he was shot in the face. The victim has since made a recovery while the shooter, Meyers, was given a lesser charge Wednesday when Davis accepted the plea deal.
According to officials from the Hancock County Prosecutor’s office, the victim who was shot in the face is a childhood friend of Meyers and was also an inmate in the Marion County Jail. Plus, the shooting victim was not a willing witness for the prosecution. Officials from the prosecutor’s office determined it was better to work out a plea agreement rather than go to trial with a victim unwilling to testify.
“The detective who investigated the case testified that she was aware of the plea before it was offered and, knowing everything she knows, agrees it was the proper way to resolve this one,” Prosecutor Brent Eaton said.
According to the plea agreement, which was signed by both sides back in April, Meyers withdrew his former plea of “not guilty” to the above charges and entered a “guilty” plea to a lesser crime — a Level 3 felony count of aggravated battery.
The plea agreement stated that the sentence was to be no more than 10 years with the duration of the executed sentence to be no less than five years, but no more than seven years. How the rest of the 10-year term was to be served was determined by Judge Davis.
After hearing from both sides, Judge Davis sentenced Meyers to the maximum 10 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections (IDOC) with seven years to be executed, six years of which are to be served at the IDOC with one year to be served as a direct commitment to Hancock County Community Corrections Home Detention.
The remaining three years of the term have been suspended to Hancock County Probation with special conditions being Meyers receive mental health treatment at the IDOC. Judge Davis also recommended Meyers receive vocational education while at the IDOC and noted Meyers needed to receive mental health treatment as a condition of probation once he finishes his time at the IDOC.
Judge Davis also reminded Meyers of the severity of his actions in that Meyers was in a neighborhood with children when the shooting happened and a 12-year-old was present when the events unfolded. Couple that with the harm, injury, loss, and damage suffered by the victim, the Judge noted he took all of those things into account to make the decision.
According to police reports, officials were called to the 400 block of Thomas Point Drive, Fortville on May 8, 2022 with reports of shots fired. Investigators took reports from witnesses who said a car pulled up to a house in the 300 block of Park Creek Lane and opened fire on an individual in the subdivision.
A witness told officials he observed a male (later identified as Meyers) park his vehicle outside the residence at the 300 block of Park Creek, the affidavit said. The witness then told officials, according to the report, that Myers exited his vehicle from the driver’s side door and began shooting seven to 10 rounds toward the residence where the victim was located in the 300 block of Park Creek. The witness stated three to four more gunshots were fired from the victim toward Meyers, followed by two to three more rounds shot by Meyers standing outside of his vehicle.
Attorney Steven Gray represented Meyers and asked Judge Davis to read Meyers his rights surrounding an appeal, which Davis did. However, Gray noted that the sentencing was in the parameters of the plea agreement, meaning there is no basis for an appeal.
Meyers has been in the Hancock County Jail since June of 2022 and will therefore get credit for 944 days served.
