Arrest in December 27th Bloomington Shooting
On December 27, 2022, at approximately 5:20pm, officers with the Bloomington Police Department responded to the 1500 block of W Kirkwood Avenue in reference to a possible shooting. A caller reported that they had heard what they believed to be a single gunshot followed by a man yelling that he had been shot. Responding officers located a 42 year-old man with a gunshot wound to his upper torso in the 200 block of S Westplex Avenue near Wheeler Mission. The victim was transported to an area hospital by ambulance for treatment, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Investigators were able to determine that the man had been shot in the backyard of a residence in the 1500 block of W Kirkwood Avenue. The victim had then walked through a wooded area towards Westplex Avenue, where he had been located by officers. It was reported that the victim had been arguing with a woman in the backyard of the residence when a man approached him and shot him with a handgun. The victim reported that he attempted to contact 911, but the suspect stole his cellphone, so he began walking toward Westplex Avenue. Officers searched the area, but were unable to locate anyone matching the description of the suspect.
As the investigation continued, detectives were able to identify the suspect as Lewis Robert Siegrist (49, transient). Further, it was determined that Siegrist had fled from Bloomington and was believed to be at a residence in Spencer, Indiana. Detectives traveled to Spencer, where they begin surveilling the residence. At approximately 1:40 a.m. on December 28, 2022, Siegrist was arrested without incident at the Speedway gas station in the 700 block of W Morgan Street in Spencer. At the time of his arrest, he was armed with a 9mm handgun.
Siegrist, who already had had an active arrest warrant for the charge of Possession of Methamphetamine, was transported to the Bloomington Police Department for an interview. Once the interview was complete, Lewis Robert Siegrist was transported to the Monroe County Jail and remanded for the following charges:
- Attempted Murder, level 1 felony
- Robbery While Armed with a Deadly Weapon, level 2 felony
- Possession of a Firearm by a Serious Violent Felon, level 4 felony
- Criminal Recklessness, level 6 felony
- Pointing a Firearm, level 6 felony
*** Criminal Defendants are presumed innocent unless and until convicted in a court of law
Trooper Reports to Bloomington District
On December 15, 2022, Eleven Probationary Troopers graduated from the 83rd Indiana State Police Academy. Today, Probationary Trooper Caroline Harding reported for duty to the Bloomington District.
Trooper Harding is a native of Indianapolis. She currently resides in Monroe County with her husband and children. After she graduated from Lawrence Central High School in 2008, Harding enrolled in Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI) and graduated with a bachelor’s degree. Before the academy, she worked as a Manager in retail and then as a Manager and Training Director for a local franchise with several stores in the Bloomington area.
Trooper Harding will now begin her next phase of instruction, a three-month field training period, working alongside veteran troopers. Field training aims to give troopers a practical application to the training they received throughout the formal academy. Upon completing field training, the troopers will be assigned a state police patrol vehicle and begin solo patrol. These troopers have already completed over 1,200 hours of structured training in law enforcement techniques and hands-on, scenario-based training at the Indiana State Police Recruit Academy. Their curriculum included criminal law instruction, emergency vehicle operations, psychology, traffic law, crash investigation, self-defense, first responder, and other general law enforcement-related training.
Upon successful completion of field training, Trooper Harding will patrol primarily Monroe County. The Bloomington District is comprised of Brown, Greene, Lawrence, Monroe, Morgan, and Owen Counties. If you are interested in pursuing an exciting career as an Indiana State Trooper, please visit www.indianatrooper.com
State of Indiana partners with Ivy Tech to offer education opportunities for state employees
The State of Indiana and Ivy Tech Community College today announced a new partnership that will offer state employees an affordable education with no upfront tuition costs.
The state will join Ivy Tech’s Achieve Your Degree (AYD) program. Rather than paying for tuition expenses at the time of enrollment – which can be a barrier for some employees seeking to earn degrees and certificates – the state will pay Ivy Tech directly upon an employee’s successful completion of a course. State employees already have education reimbursement of up to $5,250 per year. Ivy Tech’s full-time annual tuition is less than $4,500, and the agreement with Ivy Tech means that employees won’t have to be reimbursed, but rather can enroll and begin taking classes with no upfront costs. Additionally, the College will provide the state with a rebate of up to 5% of the net tuition paid, which means the state will benefit from an even lower education cost.
All Ivy Tech campuses across the state are participating in the program.
Partnering with Ivy Tech Community College offers state employees access to more than 70 academic programs, as well as opportunities to receive associate degrees, short-term certificates and workforce certifications in various fields. Additionally, Ivy Tech’s Ivy+ Tuition and Textbooks model provides students with free textbooks for required courses through the spring 2023 and a flat rate tuition cost students who enroll in more than 12 credits.
On-site application assistance and academic advising are provided by Ivy Tech faculty and staff to accommodate state employees’ busy work schedules and to ensure appropriate course schedules. Ivy Tech will also provide individualized advising, financial aid and tutoring to foster employee success. Tuition reimbursement and assistance is available up to $5,250, to all State of Indiana employees of executive branch agencies who:
- have been employed full-time continuously with the state for at least 12 months prior to submitting their Education Reimbursement program application;
- have not received a disciplinary action in the 12 months prior to the end of the course; and
- have completed the course with a satisfactory grade of at least a “C” or above (or an equivalent “pass” grade).
As part of its NextLevel State Work initiatives, the State of Indiana will continue to pursue partnerships, policies and programs that continue to make the State of Indiana a competitive, engaged and flexible workplace.
This Week in Hoosier History
1885 – Mark Twain and novelist George W. Cable presented joint readings at Plymouth Church in downtown Indianapolis. A reviewer from the Indianapolis Sentinel reported that “the audience was in a high state of hilarity throughout the night.”
MARK TWAIN and GEORGE W. CABLE travelled together one season. Twain and Cable, a colossal attraction, a happy combination! Mark owned the show, and paid Mr. Cable $600 a week and his travelling and hotel expenses. The manager took a percentage of the gross receipts for his services, and was to be sole manager. If he consulted the proprietor at all during the term of the agreement, said agreement became null and void.
These “twins of genius,” as I advertised them, were delightful company. Both were Southerners, born on the shores of the Mississippi River, and both sang well. Each was familiar with all the plantation songs and Mississippi River chanties of the negro, and they would often get to singing these together when by themselves, or with their manager for sole audience.
So delightful were these occasions, and so fond were they of embracing every private opportunity of “letting themselves out,” that I often instructed our carriage driver to take a long route between hotels and trains that I might have a concert which the public was never permitted to hear.
Mr. Cable’s singing of Creole songs was very charming and novel. They were so sweet, and he sang so beautifully, that everybody was charmed, it was all so simple, and quaint, and dignified.
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