An ongoing dispute between the residents of two neighboring homes stretches back to 2009, with multiple calls to police.
The neighbors had been to court over a fence that had been taken down, and multiple reports were forwarded to the Johnson County prosecutor to review for criminal charges.
This week, the prosecutor is again being asked to review a case for criminal charges after one neighbor shot the other, critically wounding him.
Jeffrey Weigle, 59, remained in critical condition at Indiana University Health Methodist Hospital a day after police said he was shot by his neighbor, Dean Keller, 49, an Indianapolis firefighter.
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Investigators continued to sort through evidence from two homes on Campbell Road, just east of Greenwood, after the shooting Tuesday night. Both Weigle and Keller fired guns, but one key question is who fired first.
That may never be known for sure, Johnson County Sheriff Doug Cox said. Investigators are also working to determine how many shots were fired. Both men had emptied their guns, Cox said.
What police know so far is what Lisa Keller, 48, said in her 911 call: that her neighbor, Weigle, had fired at her husband, and Dean Keller had fired back, striking Weigle.
Weigle had multiple gunshot wounds and has been hospitalized and unable to speak with police since the shooting. The Kellers have not spoken to police.
Mike Kyle, Dean Keller’s attorney, advised him not to speak to police after the shooting, which was an emotional scene, Kyle said.
Dean Keller was justified in the shooting, Kyle said.
The investigation is ongoing, but the report Lisa Keller made to police in her 911 call is what they believe happened, Kyle said.
Police did not have reason to make an arrest after the shooting on Tuesday night, Cox said. Next, the case will be sent to the prosecutor to be reviewed for any charges, he said.
The prosecutor’s office has reviewed multiple reports involving Weigle and the Kellers in the past.
Since 2009, residents of the two homes have called police at least 16 times on each other, according to reports from the Johnson County Sheriff’s Office.
The disputes have ranged from Weigle reporting being bitten by the Kellers’ dog in 2009 to multiple reports of arguments about a fence that separates the two properties as recent as last year.
In 2010, the Kellers got a protective order against Weigle after two reports where they said Weigle threatened to shoot their dog and challenged Dean Keller to a fight. The order later lapsed, though deputies had recommended more than once to get a new one, according to police reports.
In 2011, sheriff’s deputies were called to the home after a fight. Weigle told police the Kellers’ dog ran at him, and Dean Keller told police Weigle called for the dog. The two ended up on the ground fighting, and Weigle stabbed Dean Keller in the arm, requiring stitches, the report said. Dean Keller told police he had bit Weigle during the fight, according to the sheriff’s office report.
The Kellers had also reported instances where they felt threatened by Weigle, including Dean Keller reporting that Weigle had told him he had a gun and would use it, reports said. They also reported Weigle had driven up and down the road in front of their home on his motorcycle, thrown fireworks toward Lisa Keller and their dog and threatened Dean Keller with a bat, reports said.
Nancy Phillips, 79, who owns the home where Weigle lives, told police that earlier this week, Dean Keller had threatened to kill Weigle, but no report was made to police.
In the last two years, the dispute mostly centered on the fence between the properties. Residents from both homes called police when Dean Keller would remove ties or rings Weigle or Phillips would put onto the fence.
More than once, the disputes turned physical.
Over the years, Dean Keller reported Weigle had spit at him, stabbed him with a fork and hit him in the head. Lisa Keller reported Weigle had struck her with a broom.
And Weigle reported that Dean Keller had tried to hit him with a pipe and stabbed him with needle-nose pliers, police reports said.
