RICHMOND, Ind. — A Richmond man is charged with felony battery after recently released court documents say he allegedly shot a teen with autism in the heart with a pellet gun.
Ja'Curion Lamar Van Meter, 27, is charged with one felony count of aggravated battery when the assault poses a substantial risk of death.
On April 27, 2024, a 17-year-old, referred to as simply "Victim 1" in court documents, was taken to Reid Hospital in Richmond with a wound that the teen claimed came from shrapnel flipped up by a weed eater. However, despite what Victim 1 initially said, doctors found a small caliber bullet lodged near the teen's heart.
Victim 1 was then transported to St. Vincent Hospital in Indianapolis, according to court documents.
During the police investigation, officers learned that three juveniles, including Victim 1, left their houses around 6 a.m. on April 27 to mow yards. Court documents say the three juveniles mowed a few yards that morning before going to Walmart for some food.
The juveniles then mowed a few more yards and went to one of their cousin's houses for either a drink or to charge a phone, according to court documents. The cousin was identified as Van Meter in court documents.
The investigating officer later learned that all three of the juveniles viewed Van Meter as a mentor and felt that his home was a safe place for them to go. During an interview with Victim 1's mother, the investigating officer learned the teen was diagnosed with autism.
Court documents say the teen's mother told police that Victim 1 had called a friend to "say his goodbyes." When Victim 1 and their friend talked the next day, Victim 1 allegedly said they were shot by Van Meter with a pellet gun. The friend told their mother that Victim 1 and Van Meter were "s*** talking" just before Victim 1 was shot.
The investigating officer then spoke with Van Meter's juvenile cousin, who was there during the incident. Court documents say the interview took place with the juvenile's father present and that the juvenile told nearly an identical story to the officer.
According to Van Meter's cousin, he had gone inside Van Meter's house to put his phone on the charger. When he came back outside, he saw Van Meter and Victim 1 arguing. Victim 1 was allegedly holding a weed eater and swinging it toward Van Meter. Van Meter's cousin then told the officer that he took the weed eater away from Victim 1 and put it back into their cart.
Court documents say the cousin then told police that Victim 1 walked up the driveway into the garage. When Victim 1 came out of the garage, they were allegedly holding a baseball bat. After walking to the end of the street, the cousin told police that he saw Victim 1 swinging the bat before they were shot by Van Meter with a pellet gun.
Police then went to talk to Van Meter to get his side of the story. Court documents say that Van Meter indicated he was finishing up a meal when he saw his cousin and his friends arrive at his house in a cart that was being pulled by a mower. When Van Meter acknowledged the juveniles, Victim 1 allegedly replied with "what's up b**** a** (expletive)."
Van Meter allegedly told police he felt Victim 1's language was disrespectful and decided to go inside his garage to read his mail. However, according to Van Meter, Victim 1 continued to repeat the same phrase, leading Van Meter to ask his cousin to get Victim 1 away from his house.
In court documents, Van Meter told police that he saw Victim 1 pick up a weed eater at the end of the driveway before his cousin took it from them. That's when Van Meter says Victim 1 took one of his daughter's t-ball bats and walked to the end of the driveway. Van Meter allegedly told police Victim 1 initially did not make any threatening gestures, but later began to walk back up the driveway toward him with the bat raised in the air.
Van Meter allegedly told police that he felt threatened by Victim 1's actions and grabbed a black pellet rifle that he kept in the corner of his garage and fired a shot toward Victim 1. Court documents say Victim 1 dropped to the ground before getting back up and leaving about 10 minutes later.
Court documents say the third juvenile who was mowing yards that morning told police essentially the same story.
In an interview with Victim 1, they allegedly told police that his friend's phone had died while they were out mowing "rich people's yards" so they went to Van Meter's house because it was close by. Victim 1 allegedly told police that they had stayed over at Van Meter's house the night before.
Victim 1 then allegedly told police that they were "playfully saying things" to Van Meter by verbally insulting each other in a back-and-forth way before Van Meter fired the shots. When Victim 1 went to hide behind a truck, Van Meter's cousin told them the scene was "all clear," so Victim 1 came out from behind the truck before being shot.
In court documents, Victim 1 allegedly told police that the pellet gun "felt like spikes going through his body" and that he had difficulty breathing. Victim 1 allegedly said that Van Meter has pointed a gun at all three of the juveniles before, but court documents say that no other person interviewed mentioned that fact.
Finally, Victim 1 admitted to police that the story about them being hit with shrapnel was not true and only said it to avoid being a snitch.
According to court documents, a 6mm plastic pellet was lodged in the left ventricle of Victim 1's heart and required open heart exploratory surgery. The pellet was reportedly just two centimeters from the left descending artery.
Online court records show Van Meter's bail was set at $25,000. His initial hearing date has not been set as of the publishing of this article.