FRANKLIN, Ind. — An Elizabethtown man will serve the next five decades in prison for attempted murder.
Nicholas Saunders, 20, was sentenced March 28 to 50 years in prison after being convicted in February of attempted murder, pointing a firearm and use of a firearm enhancement.
According to court documents, shortly before 9 p.m. on Aug. 7, 2022, Johnson County Sheriff's Office deputies responded to a report of a person shot in the 6700 block of CR South 800 West.
Deputies found the victim, later identified as 38-year-old Jerry Jones of Morgantown, who was taken to IU Methodist Hospital, where he underwent surgery for his injuries, according to the sheriff's office.
In court documents, Saunders allegedly admitted to the shooting, saying he thought Jones might have had a knife.
“This guy shot a man five times over a minor dispute he was not even involved in to begin with, right in front of his wife,” said Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner. “We have to remove people like this from society. It’s why we have prisons and jails.”