ANDERSON, Ind. — Following an Indiana State Police investigation, a Madison County prosecuting attorney determined a Madison County deputy was justified in firing his weapon during a shootout at an Anderson gas station.
In the early morning hours of July 14, Deputy Robert Lemon was patrolling an area near 5th and Jackson streets when he said he heard between 10 and 20 gunshots.
It was later determined someone in a car heading eastbound on 5th Street shot at three people who were by the gas pumps at Jackson Mart, and one of those three people shot back at the car.
According to ISP, Lemon got out of his car and saw one of the people at the gas station had a handgun. Lemon said he gave loud, verbal commands, but they failed to follow his commands. That's when Lemon said he fired five shots.
Additional officers arrived and detained the three people at the gas station.
Aundray Lamonte Ivy Jr., 20, was shot in his lower left leg, but it's unknown if he was shot by Lemon or someone in the car. Medics took Ivy to a hospital, where he was treated and released.
"Given the location of the injury on the individual’s leg and the necessary trajectory of the projectile to cause such an injury, it is likely the injury was inflicted by an individual in the unknown vehicle in the early moments of the shooting," prosecutor Rodney J. Cummings wrote in his decision.
Lemon, who is a four-year veteran with the Madison County Sheriff's Department, was not injured in the shooting.
"Deputy Lemon's use of deadly force was justified under the law to effectuate an arrest of a person who he reasonably believed posed a threat to himself and others," Cummings wrote.
Anyone with additional information on the shooting is asked to contact ISP Detective Anthony Klettheimer at 765-778-2121.