ELWOOD, Ind. — It will be at least a year before the man accused of killing an Elwood police officer goes to trial.
Elwood Police Ofc. Noah Shahnavaz died after he was shot during a traffic stop on July 31, 2022.
The man accused of killing Shahnavaz, Carl Boards II, faces the death penalty if he's convicted. Boards' lawyers had claimed he had an intellectual disability, but a judge said in July that three doctors had found him competent to stand trial.
The trial was supposed to start in January 2025, but the judge pushed it back nine months. It is now scheduled to begin Sept. 22, 2025.
Boards' trial will be held in Madison County, where Shahnavaz was killed, but jurors will be drawn from neighboring Delaware County.
Timeline of events
Indiana State Police said Shahnavaz tried to stop a 2012 Buick LaCrosse near the intersection of State Road 37 and County Road 1100N in Madison County just after 2 a.m. Sunday, July 31, 2022.
According to court documents, Shahnavaz radioed in the license plate number. The last radio transmission from the officer recorded him saying, "had a gun."
ISP said the suspect got out of the Buick and fired multiple rounds at Shahnavaz for an unknown reason. Shahnavaz was hit multiple times. His gun was found still in its holster. Investigators found 36 rifle bullet casings in the road that are believed to be from the suspect's gun.
Police said the suspect then took off in the Buick.
Additional responding officers gave first aid to Shahnavaz until an ambulance arrived. He was taken to a hospital in Elwood before being moved to a hospital in Indianapolis, where he died from his injuries.
Around 2:30 a.m., the Hamilton County Sheriff's Department attempted to stop the Buick on State Road 37. A tire deflation device was used on it near State Road 37 and 146th Street, but the Buick kept going and made it onto Interstate 69.
Fishers Police Department officers then twice used their vehicles to stop the Buick. The second time, the Buick hit the median barrier and came to a stop. Officers were then able to arrest the suspect.
During the arrest of the suspect, a handgun was located on him. It was a 9mm handgun. A black rifle with a high-capacity magazine was on the driver's seat of the vehicle. A high-capacity magazine was also found at the barber shop where the suspect worked.