A Crawfordsville man involved in a police-related shooting in May 2019 was sentenced Tuesday in Montgomery Superior Court 1.
Joshua Shane Brown, 42, pleaded guilty to resisting law enforcement with a motor vehicle. Judge Heather Barajas handed down the sentence of 2.5 years — the maximum for a Level 6 felony — minus the 309 days he has served in the county jail.
Two additional Level 6 felony charges were dismissed as part of a plea deal submitted by Brown’s Indianapolis-based attorney Tom Franklin Hirschauer III. Brown originally faced charges of pointing a firearm at another and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
Brown was the subject of a May 2019 shooting with Crawfordsville Police when he led officers on a brief pursuit through the city’s east side and along State Road 32 before coming to a stop in the Banjo Corporation parking lot.
He then began pointing and waving “a loaded assault rifle in the direction of law enforcement and in the direction of an occupied factory,” court documents show.
On Tuesday, Brown recalled the moment he was pulled over by CPD Sergeant Jennifer Haslam.
“I was scared because I had a lot on my mind,” said Brown, who had an active warrant for his arrest for violating probation in Boone County at the time. “I was just in the vehicle and didn’t know what to do.”
Brown then fled, leading Haslam and other officers on a “low-speed” pursuit to Englewood Drive and east on State Road 32 toward the factory.
The encounter resulted in substantial injuries for Brown who was struck in the face when police returned fire. Brown said Tuesday he has undergone eight surgeries on his neck, mouth, face and jaw and suffers from confusion and post-traumatic stress disorder from the incident.
“My brain swelled up to the size of a basketball,” he said. “My vocabulary is about a third there. My recall just isn’t there. I used to be sharp as a tack.”
However, he said Tuesday he was not mentally ill, nor does he have a history of mental illness, and waived his right to plead accordingly. He has instead used the last 10 months in jail as a time for self reflection, he said, which has left him “calm” and “collected.”
“I have so many things to live for,” Brown said. “I’ve always said I would die for my daughter. But now I know I need to live for my daughter.”
Hirschauer requested the court release his client, but the motion was denied by Barajas, who said a contributing lifestyle of drug use, violence and illegal firearm possession were aggravating factors in the case.
Brown’s criminal record in Montgomery County dates back to 2000 and includes a plethora of charges, including battery, intimidation, drug and drug paraphernalia possession, possession of a handgun without a permit and resisting law enforcement with a motor vehicle.
Pleading guilty Tuesday will result in an instant probation violation for Brown in Boone County, Hirschauer said. Brown has been on probation in that county since December 2018 when he was found guilty of two counts of theft from August 2017. Other Boone County charges since 2000 include resisting law enforcement and carrying a handgun without a license.
Level 6 felonies and misdemeanors come with a 2-for-1 credit for time served in Indiana. With 309 actual days already served, Brown now has roughly 90 days left to serve in the Montgomery County Jail before he is prosecuted for a Nov. 22, 2019 charge of carrying a handgun without a license (prior). A jury trial is set for Jan. 19, 2021 in the case.
