UPDATE: The Johnson County Sheriff's Department say Jeff Weigle has been released from a rehab hospital and is in custody at the Johnson County jail.
UPDATE: The Johnson County Sheriff's Department says they received an email from a concerned citizen Wednesday that Jeff Weigle was in the hospital threatening to leave and do harm to Dean Keller.
The Prosecutors Office was contacted and a warrant was obtained for his involvement in the incident on June 27th.
The warrant was for criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.
GREENWOOD, Ind. (WTHR) - A longtime fight between neighbors in Johnson County now includes gunfire.
Their property line is really at the center of the ongoing dispute. Jeff Weigle and Dean Keller have reportedly argued for years about everything from the grass to the fence. Keller lives on one side of the fence with his wife and Weigle, who suffered several gunshot wounds, lives on the other side, where he rents a room from the home's owner, Nancy Phillips.
Phillips showed Eyewitness News the spot where her longtime tenant suffered at least three gunshot wounds Tuesday. Weigle went to the hospital in critical condition.
Keller told investigators Weigle shot at him first, so he fired back.
It all went down as Weigle finished cutting the grass on June 26th.
"I don't have to ask him to mow. He likes being outside. So he mows because he likes being out here. He tries to get this side before Dean comes out and that way he doesn't have to fool with him," said Phillips.
Nancy heard the gunfire and says Jeff ran inside yelling he had been shot. Their families have feuded for years, even down to gaps in the fence they share. Part of the fence has been taken down and replaced by Keller, Phillips said, as part of the feud.
"He's cut this so much, it doesn't even fit any more. It used to and we could wrap it around and then he put this thing on here," Phillips said.
According to Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox, his deputies have responded to emergency calls about the ongoing disputes.
Since 2009, deputies have responded to 15 incidents at the Campbell Street addresses. The Kellers have complained 12 times and Weigle complained to authorities twice. Deputies arrested both men after a 2011 dispute.
As Phillips awaits the outcome of the shooting investigation, she wonders if Weigle would be safe returning home.
"With all the problems, I don't want him to get shot up again for me," Phillips said.
Unfortunately, even after the shooting Nancy fears her dispute with her neighbor about their property line isn't over.
Cox is monitoring Weigle's progress from the gunshot injuries to see if there will be an opportunity to talk to him about the confrontation. One of Keller's relatives shared with Eyewitness News Wednesday afternoon that they are awaiting the outcome of the sheriff’s investigation after turning over evidence to the detectives which also includes surveillance video.
Keller's attorney issued the following statement to Eyewitness News Wednesday:
At this time Mr. Keller will not be making a formal statement. We are waiting for the sheriff’s department and the prosecutor’s office to complete their investigations. We trust that they will conduct a complete and thorough investigation. Mr. Keller, a respected fire fighter, and his family have been terrorized by this neighbor for years. The evidence will show that Dean’s actions were justified. Dean and his family look forward to the conclusion of this investigation so that they can put this unfortunate incident behind them.
