INDIANAPOLIS -- A man facing attempted murder charges for allegedly firing at an Indiana State Police trooper and hitting his K-9 partner told police he was on PCP at the time of the shooting.
Prosecutors filed attempted murder, carrying a handgun without a license and resisting arrest charges Monday against Cortez Boxley, 25, in connection with the Oct. 10 incident.
According to a probable cause affidavit, Indiana State Police went to an address in the 8700 block of Montery Court around 8:45 p.m. on Oct. 10 looking for a suspect who had fled from an earlier traffic stop.
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When a trooper arrived on scene, an unidentified male fled. The trooper gave chase but was unable to catch the man, who was described as wearing a blue sweatshirt and black pants.
Troopers were then advised that the suspect was possibly seen moving south on Elmonte Court, southwest of the area where the chase had just occurred.
ISP Trooper Walter Butt and his K-9 partner Apache were in the area assisting with the attempt to apprehend the suspect from the earlier traffic stop when Butt heard the dispatch about the new subject’s location.
According to the affidavit, Butt located a man he believed to be the suspect walking along 38th Street. Butt said the suspect appeared to be adjusting an object in the front pocket of his sweatshirt, which the trooper believed to be a handgun.
Believing the man to be the suspect from the earlier traffic stop, and believing him to be armed, Butt drew his pistol and ordered the man to remove his hands from the pocket of the sweatshirt.
While Butt was attempting to frisk the man for weapons, the suspect allegedly broke free and ran southward. Butt then yelled at the man to stop before releasing Apache.
When Apache reached the suspect and latched on, the man – later identified as Cortez Boxley – allegedly pulled a revolver and fired a shot at the dog.
Butt then began firing his handgun at the suspect, who fell backward as Apache fled in a northwest direction.
At that point, police say Boxley began firing the revolver at Butt, who returned fire until Boxley stopped shooting.
Butt called for an ambulance and Boxley was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for treatment.
Apache was located the next day and taken to an emergency animal clinic, where it was determined he was shot in the neck during the altercation. An x-ray revealed Apache still had bullet fragments in his neck, which the veterinarian recommended not be removed.
Crime scene investigators reportedly found 14 spent .45-caliber cartridge casings where Butt fired his service weapon.
They also located a Taurus Ultra-Light 38 special near where Boxley fell, along with five spent cartridges.
Along with the gun, investigators found a black plastic mask, an empty cigarette box and a glass plastic tube with a lighter.
According to the affidavit, when ISP detectives interviewed Boxley, he told them he was given a brown cigarette earlier in the evening, which he believe was laced with PCP.
Boxley reportedly told police that when he does PCP he blacks out, and indicated that he did not remember anything about the incident until he was being treated by emergency personnel at the scene.
According to police, Boxley has prior arrests for auto theft, resisting law enforcement, possession of a handgun without a license, theft, battery, disorderly conduct, intimidation and being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm.
As of Tuesday afternoon, Boxley was still recovering at the hospital prior to being booked into the Marion County Jail
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