WHITESTOWN, Ind. — New details are emerging on a road rage shooting that unfolded on Interstate 65 in Whitestown.
Previous reporting indicates James O. Brown and Kendra Johnson-Brown — both of whom are 44 years old — were arrested on July 25. The duo was arrested after a July 3 shooting on I-65 left a semi-truck driver critically injured.
According to court documents, witness accounts and license plate readers helped police connect Brown and Johnson-Brown to the shooting. One person who claimed to have witnessed the incident told police the vehicle the shots came from was a dark-colored sedan with tinted windows.
Soon after the shooting unfolded, police located a dark-colored sedan near mile marker 150 on I-65 northbound. Officers stopped the vehicle, collected it as evidence and detained its occupants.
After a series of interviews, a review of camera footage and consultation with the witness that provided the initial description of the suspect vehicle, police determined the car they’d collected was not the suspect vehicle. Officers also determined the individuals they detained were not the suspects they were looking for.
Per court records, the witness described the driver of the suspect vehicle as a young woman. The witness characterized the shooter as a man with a patchy beard who was wearing a white shirt.
Police reviewed security footage from more than 13 businesses. They also looked at traffic camera video from the time the shooting occurred.
During their review, police identified a possible suspect vehicle bearing a temporary paper Indiana dealer plate. After a records search, law enforcement learned a permanent plate for the vehicle had been issued since the shooting unfolded.
Police’s additional checks revealed the car was registered to Brown. An image captured by license plate readers showed a person wearing a blue shirt with some white color to it driving the vehicle the same day the shooting happened.
According to court documents, investigators contacted the dealership the vehicle was sold by. Upon making contact with the dealership, police learned a GPS tracking system had been previously installed on the vehicle to comply with the car’s lien.
Law enforcement gathered location data from the vehicle’s GPS system, which led them to the 3500 block of North Glen Arm Road in Indianapolis. Police ultimately determined Brown’s residence was located in the same area of Glen Arm Road.
According to court documents, when police showed the witness they’d been consulting with throughout their investigation a photo of Brown’s vehicle, he said it was “highly possible” that the car in the picture was the one he saw during the shooting. The witness added that Brown’s car “looks just like the car” he saw shots fire from.
When police presented the witness with a six-person photo array and asked him to identify who he believed might have been the shooter involved in the July 3 incident, he pointed at Brown’s picture.
Court records show that police detained Brown while he was at work on July 25. That same day, officers executed a search warrant on Brown’s residence, detaining Johnson-Brown in the process.
Law enforcement reported that they recovered a loaded silver magazine, used shooting targets, a black firearm holster, a loaded extended magazine, a rifle with no visible serial number, a silver and black Smith and Wesson SD9 VE 9mm semi-automatic handgun and a silver 16-round magazine containing 15 rounds of 9mm ammunition.
On the day of the shooting, police recovered a 9mm bullet casing at the scene of the crash. After an analysis of the casing, investigators determined there was a “high probability” the casing located at the scene was produced by the Smith and Wesson they recovered at Brown’s residence.
According to court documents, a witness confirmed to police that the gun he saw discharge the day of the shooting was silver in color on its “barrel.”
Through a series of interviews, police determined the gun belonged to one of Brown’s family members. When Brown was brought in for questioning, however, he admitted he carries his Smith and Wesson “from time to time.”
Court records indicate that officers conducted an extensive interview with Brown, who initially declined to sign an Advise of Rights form. Brown said he wanted to know more information about the police’s investigation before he signed the form.
Officers then explained to Brown that they could not reveal more about the investigation because he had not signed the form. Brown subsequently signed the document and agreed to speak with police about the investigation.
During his interview with police, Brown admitted he saw a crash involving a semi the day the shooting unfolded. When officers asked him where he was compared to the semi when the crash occurred, he said “parallel.”
Brown added that he turned around after the crash to try to get a better view of the accident and see what happened. Police later asked Brown if he was driving his own vehicle the day of the crash. Brown then indicated the car police towed before they interviewed him was the same car he was in the day of the crash.
Police later presented him with a photo of the suspect vehicle they had captured via license plate readers. According to court documents, Brown said, “I think,” when police asked him if the car in the picture was his.
Court records show that police asked Brown if Johnson-Brown was with him at the time of the crash. He initially did not reveal that Johnson-Brown was with him. As the interview continued, however, Brown admitted Johnson-Brown was with him when the crash happened.
Police later asked Brown why his story changed. He told police it was because they were “beating around the bush” with him.
Soon after he made that declaration, Brown said he didn’t want to talk about what happened with the semi anymore. When police began explaining what they believed happened to the semi and its driver, Brown interrupted them and said, “Are we talking about murder or are we talking about injury?”
According to court documents, police asked Brown why that question was important to him. He told officers it was because he watches a lot of shows and wants to know what he’s dealing with.
As the interview began winding down, one detective said, “We all know that it wasn’t just a semi that ran off the road, right?” After the detective said that, Brown reportedly went “mhmm.”
Soon after Brown said that, he indicated he no longer wanted to talk to investigators. Johnson-Brown requested a lawyer and did not speak with police during their investigation.
While Johnson-Brown did not talk to officers, they were still led to believe that she was the person driving the car at the time of the shooting. The witness police spoke with said he believed the driver of the car was a “young woman” wearing a dark-colored shirt. The witness also indicated that the driver’s hair was braided back into a ponytail.
Security video captured at a business police believe Johnson-Brown visited the day of the shooting shows a woman matching Johnson-Brown’s description wearing a dark-colored shirt.
According to court documents, while interviewing other subjects, police learned Johnson-Brown was likely wearing a dark-colored Big Lebowski shirt that had “The Dude Abides” written on it the day she allegedly visited the business and was involved in the interstate shooting. Police recovered a blue t-shirt that had “The Dude Abides” written on it when they searched Brown’s residence.
Police arrested Brown on the following charges:
- Attempted murder, a Level 1 Felony
- Aggravated battery, a Level 3 Felony
- Criminal recklessness, a Level 5 Felony
- Pointing a firearm, a Level 6 Felony
Johnson-Brown was arrested for the following:
- Aggravated battery, a Level 3 Felony
- Criminal recklessness, a Level 6 Felony
- Reckless driving, a Class B Misdemeanor
According to court documents, the truck driver that Brown allegedly shot was covered in blood when police found him. The round Brown allegedly fired struck the driver on the left side of his head.
Medics ultimately confirmed the truck driver suffered a traumatic brain injury during the incident. Court records indicate the driver is non-verbal and fully paralyzed on his right side because of the shooting.
The most serious of the charges Brown and Johnson-Brown face are attempted murder — a Level 1 Felony — and aggravated battery, a Level 3 Felony, respectively.
Individuals convicted of a Level 1 Felony in Indiana could receive a 40-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000. The maximum penalty for a Level 3 Felony in the Hoosier State is a 16-year prison sentence and a fine of up to $10,000.
According to Indiana’s public court reporting system, Brown’s jury trial is scheduled for Nov. 13 at 9 a.m. Johnson-Brown’s jury trial has been scheduled for the same date and time.
