An off-duty Anderson police officer, Maurice Magee, has been charged with criminal recklessness after firing his weapon while attempting to recover his stolen vehicle on the east side of Indianapolis. As reported by FOX59, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office has filed two counts against Magee following the incident, which occurred near Arsenal Tech High School and involved an exchange of gunfire. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
According to a WTHR report, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department (IMPD) was called to the 600 block of Woodruff Place West Drive on May 19, just before 6:30 a.m., where residents had heard a commotion consisting of car engines revving and a subsequent crash followed by the sound of gunshots evidence has come to light contradicting Magee's initial claim that he did not discharge his weapon, a claim negated by ballistic tests confirming that his AR-15 rifle was fired during the incident.
Magee had resorted to using an Apple AirTag to track his allegedly stolen car, eventually confronting the suspects, which ended with his vehicle colliding with the stolen one and shots fired, detailed in a WISH-TV news release. While no one was hit by the gunfire, one of the bullets passed through a child’s bedroom window, underscoring the potential for grave consequences.
The Marion County Prosecutor, Ryan Mears, criticized Magee's actions, stating, "Law enforcement officers should understand the proper and safe ways for reporting a crime," and lamenting that this alarming chain of events "could have been avoided if the defendant had simply allowed local police to conduct an investigation; instead, his alleged actions unnecessarily jeopardized the safety of the residents of Woodruff Place," as per statements obtained by both FOX59 and WISH-TV. As a result of the preliminary charges, the Anderson Police Department has placed Magee on administrative leave pending a full review of the case.
The investigation into the shooting is ongoing and authorities are urging anyone with further information to reach out to Crime Stoppers of Central Indiana at 317-262-8477, as the suspects involved in the alleged vehicle theft remain unidentified.
