A Madison County judge has ruled that the former Noblesville West Middle School student who wounded a student and a teacher in a 2018 shooting at the school will remain detained.
Madison County Circuit Judge Stephen Koester said June 7 that David Moore would remain in custody. Moore was charged in May by Madison County Prosecutor Rodney Cummings with battery against a public safety official, a Level 6 felony, stemming from an incident that occurred March 20 while Moore was at the Pendleton Juvenile Correctional Facility in Madison County.
A probable cause statement alleges that Moore punched a criminal justice case
Manager twice in the breast. The individual told police that Moore and another juvenile had entered her office but did not have time to meet with both of them and directed them out in an ushering kind of motion, according to the probable cause statement. She described the punch as “a kind of fist bump” and indicated it was not a hard punch, the statement said.
A report was taken and Moore was asked about the alleged incident, which he acknowledged and indicated it was horseplay and not a big deal, according to the statement. Moore, who was 13 at the time of the school shooting inside a classroom, faced a hearing in April to review his potential release last month, but a Hamilton County Circuit judge ruled that Moore would remain in the custody of the Hamilton County Juvenile Detention Center.
Moore, who appeared for a hearing June 6, will be transferred from the Hamilton County Juvenile Services Center to the Madison County Youth Center Secure Detention Unit, according to Koester’s ruling. Koester said in his ruling, “Based on the totality of the circumstances in this case, the Court cannot say it is in the best interest of safety and security of the community for the Youth to be released pending the final outcome of this new matter.”
The judge said he reviewed documents, including those in the Hamilton County case, as well as a psychological and risk assessment and consultation report filed May 30, according to court records.
“Despite numerous years of intensive rehabilitation at the Department of Correction, the Youth now faces a delinquency count of Battery Against a Public Safety Official, a level 6 Felony if committed by an adult, allegedly occurring just before his release,” Koester wrote. “The new allegations include reports of a flippant attitude concerning the allegations, much like the continued noted lack of remorse or empathy shown about the underlying , much more serious, offenses that led to his DOC wardship.”
Koester also wrote in his order that he determined that Moore “is a risk to the community” and that out of home placement is in his best interests and well-being. A pre-trial conference has been scheduled for 9 a.m. June 30, according to Koester.
