Wounded neighbor charged in Johnson County shootout

The Johnson County man wounded last month in an exchange of gunfire with his neighbor over a fence faces a felony charge. 

Jeffrey Weigle was arrested while in a hospital bed, police said, after authorities learned he had been threatening to harm the man who shot him. The 59-year-old faces a charge of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon.

The shootout occurred June 27 in a rural neighborhood near Greenwood. Weigle was critically injured. The neighbor who shot him, Dean Keller, was unharmed. Johnson County Prosecutor Brad Cooper said Keller fired in self-defense.

"We received an email yesterday from a concerned citizen who advised that Jeff Weigle was in the hospital threatening to leave and do harm to Dean Keller," Sheriff Doug Cox said in an email Thursday.

ISP to Facebook users::Stop 'armchair sleuthing' on Delphi murders

Kroger plans:Marsh stores in Indianapolis, Fishers, Greenwood may be shut forever

Timeline:Broom-swinging to bullets, how a fight over a fence escalated to gunfire

Weigle was held Thursday at a rehabilitation facility, Cox said. Bond was set at $19,000. He faces up to 2½ years in prison if convicted.

Security video released earlier this month shows the violent clash that erupted between the two men over a fence line between yards. 

Weigle can be heard insulting Keller, 49, and his wife before Weigle drives a riding lawnmower off screen. Weigle backs up the mower and, again in the camera’s view, raises a handgun.

Keller pulls his handgun and fires. Four shots strike Weigle in the chest. Weigle falls from the mower and fires shots back toward the Kellers.

The pair have a long history of disputes. 

On July 5, Cooper announced that Keller, an Indianapolis firefighter, would not be charged.

Call IndyStar reporter Vic Ryckaert at (317) 444-2701. Follow him on Twitter: @vicryc.