Video shows how two Indiana judges involved in drunken parking lot brawl ended up shot

An Indiana judge has authorized the release of video that shows a drunken brawl that led to two Southern Indiana judges being shot outside an Indianapolis White Castle in 2019.

The video was released to local news station WRTV after Brandon Kaiser, the gunman, was found guilty of aggravated battery and other crimes related to the incident on Sept. 21. It shows Clark County Circuit Judges Brad Jacobs and Andrew Adams fighting with two other men in the parking lot of a White Castle restaurant at about 3:30 a.m. on May 1, 2019.

More than two years ago now, Jacobs, Adams, and Crawford County Judge Sabrina Bell were in Indianapolis to attend a judicial conference. According to testimony heard at Kaiser's trial, the trio of judges had been drinking heavily with other judges at several downtown restaurants and bars before stopping at the White Castle on 55 W. South St. in the early morning.

The judges were in the restaurant's parking lot when two men, Kaiser and his nephew Alfredo Vazquez, drove by in an SUV. One of the men yelled something, and Bell "extended her middle finger to the occupants of the SUV," court documents said, according to WRTV.

Kaiser and Vazquez parked, exited their vehicle, and approached the judges, video shows. Then the judges rushed the two men and a brawl broke out, punches and kicks flying. The fight ended when Kaiser pulled a handgun and shot Adams and Jacobs.

Then Kaiser and Vaszquez got back into the SUV and drove away, video shows.

Watch:

Both Adams and Jacobs survived their wounds.

On Sept. 21, a Marion County jury convicted Kaiser, 44, of seven felonies and one misdemeanor in connection with the incident, WRTV reported. His most serious charges are two counts of aggravated battery, which each carry a maximum sentence of six years in prison. Kaiser, who unsuccessfully claimed he fired the shots in self-defense, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 21.

Vazquez pleaded guilty to battery in November 2019 and was sentenced to six months' home detention and a year of probation, according to WRTV. He has since completed his sentence and was discharged from probation in December 2020, records show.

The judges did not face charges. However, they were disciplined by the Indiana Supreme Court. Jacobs and Bell served 30-day suspensions for their drunken misconduct. Adams was handed a 60-day suspension.

Jacobs remains on the Clark County bench, but Adams and Bell are no longer judges, according to WRTV.