GREENWOOD, Ind. — A man has been found guilty of murdering his father during a dispute at a Greenwood residence last year.
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Jacob Moran has been convicted of murder, domestic battery (level 6 felony), domestic battery (Class C Misdemeanor), intimidation (Level 6 Felony), intimidation (Class A Misdemeanor) and criminal trespass (Class A Misdemeanor).
Moran was convicted on Friday following the conclusion of a four-day jury trial.
JCPO reported that the jury was presented with evidence showing that Moran became verbally and physically aggressive on Aug. 28, 2023, after being asked to leave his father’s residence on the 400 block of Euclid Avenue.
Police were called for the first time around 1:30 p.m. in response to a disturbance in the area. Court documents showed that the homeowner, Shaun Moran, reportedly told officers that he had let his son stay at the residence over the past few weeks as Jacob was struggling with homelessness. Shaun told responding police that Jacob had reacted violently when he was asked to leave and battered Shaun in front of his wife and younger son.
Jacob then fled the scene after the first altercation. JCPO said Jacob returned to the residence two more times within the next eight hours. The third and final visit proved to be deadly.
Before Jacob left for a second time, he reportedly told his father and stepmother that the next time he would return armed with a firearm. The third time Moran returned to the residence would prove to be the last as he shot his father through a garage window.
Police were called to the residence around 8:50 p.m. and found Shaun on the garage floor with a gunshot wound in his back. He was pronounced dead on the scene.
Previous reports indicate that, before the deadly shooting, Shaun had requested extra patrols from the Greenwood Police Department after Jacob fled the home and knowing that he had a handgun in his possession.
Detectives determined that the gunfire came from outside the garage. Jacob had fired a single bullet through the glass of a window, striking his father in the back.
Jacob reportedly confessed to his mother that he did shoot his father and would have fired more rounds had the gun not jammed, according to court documents.
Police records show Jacob went on to tell his mother that he arrived at the residence for a third time to find his father rummaging through some of his personal items in the garage. Jacob said he confronted his father before leaving the garage, turning around and shooting his father through a window.
Jacob was later apprehended in St. Joseph County, Michigan, on Aug. 29 after a Michigan State Trooper observed a vehicle parked near a dead-end road. The vehicle was linked to an ongoing homicide investigation after the trooper ran a search of the tag. Police also recovered the handgun that was reportedly used in the murder.
“I want to thank the Greenwood Police Department — both the detective division and the patrol division — for their outstanding work and their meticulous efforts in putting together an excellent case for trial,” Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner said. “And I am very proud of my deputy prosecutors Matthew Kubacki and Megan Smither, who skillfully tried this case to a jury and obtained convictions on all charges, including murder.”
JCPO said a murder conviction carries a prison sentence ranging between 45 and 65 years while a Level 6 Felony includes a sentence between 180 days and 2.5 years. A Class C Misdemeanor carries a sentence range between 0 and 365 days. JCPO added that prosecutors are looking to add a firearms enhancement to the murder charge. If this is approved, it would add an additional penalty range of five to 20 years.
“This case centers around a father who tried to rekindle an estranged relationship with his son, only to end horribly,” Homicide Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matthew Kubacki said. “The family of Shaun Moran deserves justice and closure, with this verdict helping them begin down that road. The Greenwood Police Department at every level was instrumental in helping secure the verdict in this matter.”
Moran is set to be sentenced in Johnson Superior Court 3 on Jan. 10.
