{"id":1400153,"date":"2026-01-27T16:25:22","date_gmt":"2026-01-27T21:25:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/?p=1400153&preview=true&preview_id=1400153"},"modified":"2026-01-27T18:02:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-27T23:02:28","slug":"authorities-accuse-motorcycle-and-street-gang-members-of-targeting-indiana-judge-for-assassination","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thenewsherald.com\/2026\/01\/27\/authorities-accuse-motorcycle-and-street-gang-members-of-targeting-indiana-judge-for-assassination\/","title":{"rendered":"Authorities accuse motorcycle and street gang members of targeting Indiana judge for assassination"},"content":{"rendered":"

By TODD RICHMOND The Associated Press<\/p>\n

Members of a motorcycle club and a street gang clearly targeted an Indiana judge for assassination, police said Tuesday, days after officers arrested five people<\/a> in connection with the attack.<\/p>\n

Police and prosecutors at a news conference praised what they characterized as a relentless effort to track down who opened fire on Tippecanoe County Superior Court Judge Steven Meyer and his wife, Kim, at their home in Lafayette on Jan. 18. Both Meyer and his wife suffered gunshot wounds but survived.<\/p>\n

The Lafayette Police Department, the FBI, the Indiana State Police and the Purdue University Police Department launched a search<\/a> for the shooter that went on for days before apprehending five people in synchronized arrests Thursday evening, including four in Indiana and one in Lexington, Kentucky. Court appearances for the suspects were set for Wednesday in Indiana and Kentucky.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis attack was more than an assault on two citizens,\u201d LaFayette Police Chief Scott Galloway said. \u201cThis was an assault on the rule of law itself.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege that the attack was designed to derail a domestic abuse case against Thomas Moss, a member of the Detroit-based Phantom MC motorcycle club with ties to the Vice Lords street gang.<\/p>\n

According to a probable cause affidavit, the Vice Lords offered the victim in the case $10,000 not to testify against Moss but she refused.<\/p>\n

With Moss\u2019 trial set to begin on Jan. 20 in front of Meyer, another Phantom MC member, Blake Smith, purchased a shotgun. A masked man traveled to the Meyers\u2019 home armed with that shotgun on Jan. 18. He lured the couple to the door by saying he was looking for his dog, shot them through the door and fled.<\/p>\n