INDIANAPOLIS -- The attorney for the man accused of fatally shooting a Southport police officer in July filed a motion for a change of venue on Thursday, arguing that her client can’t get a fair trial in Marion County.
Attorney Denise Laureen Turner submitted the motion in Marion County Criminal Court 3, asking Judge Sheila Carlisle to agree to move the case outside of Indianapolis.
The motion argues in part that intense media coverage of the shooting, and suspect Jason Brown, has tainted any possible Marion County jury pool.
Brown, 28, has been in police custody since he was released from the hospital following the late-July shooting.
MORE | Who is Jason Brown? Woman who’s known him his whole life says shooting suspect is ‘shy, timid’
According to witness accounts, Southport Lt. Aaron Allan was responding to an overturned vehicle in Homecroft when the driver, Brown, opened fire on him for still-unknown reasons.
Allan was struck 11 times, including once in the heart. He was pronounced dead a short time later.
Brown was also shot in the cheek, clavicle and left arm when two other assisting officers, Homecroft Police Chief John Ryan and an off-duty Johnson County deputy, returned fire following Allan’s shooting.
Inside Brown’s vehicle, police said they found a one-quart bag of 13 smaller bags of suspected marijuana were found in the car, as well as a black Springfield XDM-9 pistol. The slide was locked back, and it contained an empty magazine fit to hold 20 rounds.
Brown made his first court appearance on Aug. 9 after being medically cleared. Judge Carlisle granted a motion that same day to move him to the custody of the Indiana Department of Correction for safekeeping.
MORE | Jason Brown arrives in court with head down, silent
Requests for changes of venue are not uncommon in high-profile cases. The fatal drunken driving case against former IMPD officer David Bisard was moved to Fort Wayne after his attorneys argued intense coverage of the crash put his ability to get a fair trial in jeopardy.
Two of the three primary defendants in the Richmond Hill Explosion case – Mark and Bob Leonard – were also moved to different venues. Mark Leonard’s case was heard in St. Joseph County, where he was found guilty of murder and sentenced to life in prison. Bob Leonard’s case was heard in the same Fort Wayne courtroom as Bisard’s. He too was found guilty of murder and sentence to life without the possibility of parole.
Carlisle did not immediately rule on the motion, and there was no timeframe for her to do so.
READ MORE | Family of Lt. Aaron Allan issues statement thanking the community for support | Funeral arrangements set for Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan | Hours before he was killed, Lt. Aaron Allan walked his son to his first day of kindergarten | Remembering Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan: A father, a husband & first to rush to those in need | Fellow officer on Lt. Aaron Allan: "The footprints he left are huge" | Southport officer thought he was responding to a routine crash, instead he was shot to death | Who is Jason Brown? Woman who's known him his whole life says shooting suspect is 'shy & timid' | Jason Brown formally charged with murder; allegedly shot Lt. Allan 11 times, including while he was crawling away | Jason Brown's criminal history includes only 1 misdemeanor | Owner of shop where suspected cop killer Jason Brown worked: "Please don't condemn us all" | Numbers show officer's shooting like nothing Southport has ever seen
PHOTOS | Memorial for Lt. Aaron Allan on his cruiser | Southport police Lt. Aaron Allan
