About the trial a suspect in Judge Meyer’s attempted murder was trying to derail
A plot to murder Judge Steve Meyer revolved around one suspect's upcoming trial, court records say. Here's what that case was about.
Investigators say a plot to shoot and kill Tippecanoe Superior Court 2 Judge Steve Meyer – one that wounded Meyer and his wife, Kim, by shotgun blasts through their front door – revolved around the timing of one of the suspect’s trials in Meyer’s court.
Thomas Moss, a 43-year-old Lafayette man, was one of five people arrested and charged Friday in connection with the attempted murder for his role on the afternoon of Jan. 18 and the conspiracy leading up to it.
So, what was at stake in a trial that had been scheduled for jury selection on Jan. 20, two days after the Meyers were attacked?
Moss faced nine felony charges filed in June 2024, including domestic battery, criminal recklessness, intimidation and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, according to court records.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed in June 2024, Moss had pressured his way two years earlier into the Lafayette home of a woman he’d previously been in a relationship with because he was going through a divorce. She told police that Moss never left. Court documents accuse Moss of hitting her with a broomstick, threatening to shoot her or break her jaw, demanding her paychecks, firing shots into the floor of the house when he was angry and ordering her to buy certain firearms because he wasn’t allowed, due to past convictions.
If convicted in this trial, the charges carried potential sentences ranging from 6 months to 12 years in prison.
Moss also faces habitual offender charges, given convictions tied to incidents dating to 2004 for battery and criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon. The habitual offender enhancement could have added six to 20 years to a sentence on the most serious of the charges he faced.
In a letter to the court in June 2024, the victim in that case asked the judge to increase the bond for Moss, saying that Moss was part of a motorcycle club and a street gang with members across the country and that she feared her life was in danger. She wrote that he’d threatened to kill her if she ever went to police and that “he refuses to go back to prison.”
Among the charges filed Friday, Amanda Milsap – who was once was married to Moss – contacted the victim in the case, telling her that Moss and members of the Vice Lords gang wanted to pay her $10,000 for her to not testify at his trial. The woman, who has a no contact order against Moss and was living in Pennsylvania, said she didn’t entertain the offer, according to charges filed Friday.
The trial against Moss was postponed this week, after Meyer was shot. As of Friday, it had not been rescheduled.
ABOUT THE CHARGES: Hearings had yet to be set, as of Friday, for the five people charged Friday in connection to the shooting of Steve and Kim Meyer.
Raylen Ferguson, 38, of Lexington, Kentucky, is accused of knocking on the Meyers’ front door and firing shots that injured them. He’s been charged with attempted murder, conspiracy to commit murder, along with several other charges.
Thomas Moss, 43, of Lafayette, was charged with attempted murder and a similar set of other charges Ferguson faces.
Blake Smith, 32, of Dayton, also was charged with attempted murder and other charges for his role in buying the gun used.
Amanda Milsap, 45, Lafayette, on suspicion of bribery and obstruction of justice.
Zenada Greer, 61, Lexington, Kentucky, on suspicion of assisting a criminal and obstruction of justice.
Tippecanoe Circuit Court Judge Sean Persin asked the Indiana Supreme Court to appoint a special judge in the case. According to the Indiana Supreme Court, one would be appointed by Monday.
Here’s more on the plot and how police say they unraveled it:
CHIEF JUSTICE MEETS WITH JUDGES TO TALK SECURITY: Indiana Supreme Court Chief Justice Loretta Rush, a former Tippecanoe Superior Court judge, held a half-hour security webinar Friday from Meyer’s courtroom in the Tippecanoe County Courthouse. According to the courts, nearly 200 judges from across the state tuned in for a conversation with Rush, Persin and security expert James Hamiltonfor a live discussion.
On the night of the shooting, Rush sent a letter to judges across Indiana, urging that they “remain vigilant in your own security.”
“I worry about the safety of all our judges,” Rush wrote in Sunday night’s letter. “As you work to peacefully resolve more than 1 million cases a year, you must not only feel safe, you must also be safe. Any violence against a judge or a judge’s family is completely unacceptable.
Here’s a portion of Friday’s session with judges, which was closed to the general public.
MEYER’S REACTION TO ARRESTS: Steve Meyer issued this statement Friday, through the Indiana Supreme Court: “We are extremely grateful for the perseverance of law enforcement and the continued community support. We will not be making public statements about the case since it is important to let the judicial process move forward.”
INVESTIGATION ONGOING: Asked whether there could be more arrests in the case, Lafayette Police Sgt. Matt Santerre said: “The investigation continues.”
LAFAYETTE MAN CHARGED WITH INTIMIDATION FOR DOXXING, MAKING THREATS AGAINST POLICE
A Lafayette man arrested Sunday, accused of making threats on social media and offering people guns if they were willing to kill police, was charged Friday with intimidation, according to court records.
Scott Pruitt, 57, of Lafayette, was accused of making a series of threats, dating to 2025, about ambushing police officers and trying to get others to do the same. Before charges were filed Friday, Pruitt already faced a “red flag” hearing set for Jan. 30 to determine whether police could hang onto the guns confiscated in a search of his home after he was arrested this week.
Pruitt’s arrest, near the intersection of Earl Avenue and Kossuth Street, came as police had started a manhunt for the person who went to the Lafayette home of Judge Steve Meyer and shot him and his wife, Kim, through their front door. Police have not connected Pruitt to that crime.
In documents filed with the charges, prosecutors accuse Pruitt of singling out the Lafayette home of an Indiana State Police trooper, providing “suggestions on how to instigate an encounter and kill the officer.” According to court documents, the FBI interviewed Pruitt in February 2025 after similar threats were posted to another social media account.
No court hearing was listed for Pruitt in online records. After charges were filed, he was being held as of Friday in Tippecanoe County Jail on a $25,000 bond.
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might need to clean the jail camera lens
I think I have discovered the least important aspect of this story.