Man accused of firing shots near New Palestine Little League game pleads guilty to criminal recklessness

A man accused of pointing a firearm at his wife and firing shots near a Little League Baseball game has been sentenced to probation following a plea agreement.

Jason K. Linville told police he was aiming his gun at chipmunks in his yard in September of 2022, according to the probable cause document filed against him. Police later determined he was firing shots randomly into his yard during an argument.

Spectators at the baseball field described hearing about 15 shots from Linville’s home, which is about a half-mile away from the junior high school. According to court documents, all children were removed from the field after the shots were heard, as a precaution.

Deputies with the Hancock County Sheriff’s office responded to Linville’s home after receiving multiple reports of shots fired in the area of County Road S 600 W and County Road W 200 S.

Arriving deputies informed Linville of the city ordinance prohibiting anyone from firing shots within 300 feet of a residence and Linville acknowledged, stating “what he did was dumb”, according to the affidavit. As deputies were leaving, a woman approached them and said that she had been in an argument with Linville at the time the shots were fired and that he had repeatedly pointed a handgun at her head and the ground before firing.

Linville was taken into custody at the scene.

A handgun was recovered from inside Linville’s home during the investigation.

Linville was initially charged with pointing a firearm at another person and criminal recklessness.

In May of 2023, Linville pled guilty to criminal recklessness and the charge of pointing a firearm at another person was dropped. He was sentenced to 180 days in jail, which were suspended and 359 days of probation.