Shooter Sentenced
New Albany, IN – Floyd County Prosecuting Attorney Keith A. Henderson announced today that on Wednesday, August 14, 2019, Charles B. Smith was sentenced to a term of 23 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections for the shooting of Shelly Weesaw and her son Randall Ferguson.
On June 10, 2019, Smith pled Guilty but Mentally Ill to Aggravated Battery as a Level 3 Felony (9 years), Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon as a Level 5 Felony (6 years), and Carrying a Handgun Without a License as a Level 5 Felony (3 years). The Aggravated Battery and Battery by Means of a Deadly Weapon are served consecutively while Carrying a Handgun Without a License is served concurrently.
His sentence was further enhanced by eight years due to the firearm sentencing enhancement. This sentencing enhancement allows for an additional term of imprisonment (in this case 8 years) if the state shows beyond a reasonable doubt that the person knowingly or intentionally used a firearm in the commission of the offense. This case represents the first time this enhancement was used in Floyd or Clark Counties.
Mr. Henderson said, “I am pleased that the Defendant received an appropriate sentence in this case. Tools like this enhancement can be powerful deterrents for repeat violators of the law.”
The State of Indiana was represented in the sentencing hearing by Deputy Prosecutor Jerry Jacobi.
