Formal Charges Filed Against North Judson Man in Shooting Incident

Hanley Warren Chapman
Hanley Warren Chapman
Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has filed formal charges against a North Judson man who reportedly fired three shots into the floor from a semi-automatic handgun after an argument with his wife Wednesday night.

It was after she walked outside that 48-year-old Hanley Warren Chapman fired three gunshots into his living room floor. Chapman’s brother-in-law was still in the home at the time the shots were fired. He reportedly told police that Chapman fired the gun right next to him and he left the home. The police were then notified of the situation.

North Judson police attempted to get Chapman out of the home by calling his phone and ordering him to surrender over a squad car loudspeaker. After several warnings to show himself to police and no sign of Chapman, the Pulaski County SWAT team was activated. SWAT team members deployed two canisters of tear gas into the house and waited five minutes before making entry into the home. Upon entry, they did not find Chapman on the main floor of the home so they moved to the basement. One canister of tear gas was deployed into the basement and while Chapman wasn’t located, SWAT members heard Chapman coughing in a small locked room in the basement. One more tear gas canister was deployed through the locked wooden door and Chapman was taken into custody after a SWAT team medic checked him out.

The weapon was not immediately found. When questioned about the firearm, he would not tell police where it was. He eventually told his brother-in-law where it was. Chapman signed a consent to search form and police found the handgun in an air vent grate.

He was then taken into custody and booked into the Starke County Jail.

Starke County Prosecutor Nicholas Bourff has formally charged Chapman with Criminal Recklessness as a Class C Felony and Resisting Law Enforcement as a Class D Felony. Chapman remains incarcerated in the Starke County jail on a $50,000 Starke Circuit Court surety bond and is to have no contact with the victim.