July 20 – GOSHEN – An Elkhart man charged with murder is preparing for his second jury trial after the first resulted in a hung jury.
During Thursday’s court proceedings, Elkhart County Circuit Judge Michael Christofeno advised the court that he would not allow any of the psychologists who performed one of Norton’s many evaluations to testify in court as an expert witness.
He went on to explain that because Norton’s defense team will again attempt to claim self-defense as before, Norton’s perception of events and the alleged trauma-based reactions that the psychologist would assess would not be relevant in court as they would be a subjective belief and not an objective fact.
At his trial on November 4, 2021, Jordon Norton was found guilty on count 2, assault and battery with a deadly weapon, a level 5 felony, and count 3, criminal recklessness, a level 6 felony, but the jury was unable to reach a decision on count 1, murder.
Norton is charged with the murder of David Artley, August 26, 2020, at Hardy’s Bar, 610 S. Main St., Elkhart. Norton now has two self-defense notices filed in the case – one with pending assessments for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and one of his defense attorneys points to a double jeopardy theory. Norton is also trying to file an appeal for the two crimes he was convicted of.
Christofeno acknowledged that the appeals court dismissed Norton’s case due to a lack of a timely appearance, but blamed himself and pointed to his own lack of notice to the defense as the cause of the dismissal.
Plans to move forward with the August 7 trial date are still in effect; however, the court deemed it necessary to hold another status conference on August 3.
CORREON MEUX
An Elkhart teenager appeared in circuit court Thursday morning for a status conference where he learned the prosecution would add information about the charge to his case.
Correon Meux, 15, is charged with killing Logan Nussbaum, 18, Goshen, in an October 15 shooting. Not much is known about the deal as, due to Meux’s minor status, the deal is privatized.
Elkhart City Police say Nussbaum was shot while driving at 2:45 p.m. in the 1200 block of Burr Oak Place, causing him to crash into two unoccupied parked cars and then into the tree line adjacent to the Carriage House apartments. Officers initiated first aid, but Nussbaum was pronounced dead at the scene.
Because of Meux’s own admission of gang membership, as well as the nature of the allegations, 15-year-old Meux was remanded to adult court, according to court records. Meux claimed affiliation with the Woody Kappa Gang, records show — although, according to the order renouncing him, his family, friends and teachers found him “good-natured,” and they were unaware of his daily marijuana and social ecstasy use, or gang affiliation.
Elkhart County District Attorney Vicki Becker told the court last week that the state offered Meux a plea deal, which he did not accept, and so the state rescinded the offer, which would have removed the enhancement for the use of a handgun.
Meux’s trial is scheduled for December 4, assuming the case already scheduled for that date does not go to trial.
LOVELL L. FREDRICK
Another Elkhart man has also had charges added to his case.
Lovell Fredrick, 34, Elkhart, has been charged with sexual assault and burglary since February 27.
According to an Elkhart police affidavit, Fredrick entered an apartment on Sycamore Street in Elkhart and touched a sleeping woman’s mouth with his own, which awoke her, according to a probable cause affidavit. The victim said she did not know Fredrick and did not invite him over, but although his door was locked, Frederick also brought a large number of personal items with him and they were lying on the ground at the top of his steps, according to the affidavit. The victim said he called 911 immediately after being awakened and officers arrested a man they found inside the apartment and took him into custody. The man allegedly offered several variations and spellings of the name Brian Richard Welks, police said in their report. It was a name the police later learned was not his.
The man also reportedly told officers, “All I was trying to do was take a shower. It’s a big misunderstanding,” and said he got his mail in the post office because he was staying in multiple places. The man eventually told them his name, Lovell Fredrick, and agreed to speak with a detective, telling the detective he knew the victim’s brother, the affidavit reads. Investigators said the door to the apartment appeared to be open.
Lovell’s jury trial is scheduled for October 2 and on the same day he will have a bench trial for the additional misdemeanor charges.
MATTHEW MALONE
An Elkhart teenager’s armed robbery case may be about to be solved. Elkhart County Circuit Judge Michael Christofeno reset the hearing for Matthew Malone, 18, Elkhart, to August 3.
According to a probable cause affidavit from Elkhart County deputies, Malone allegedly met a man at New Paris Apartments, 18856 US 6, New Paris, at 2 p.m. on December 12, on Facebook Marketplace to purchase a 2016 orange Mustang 5.0 for which he agreed to pay $35,000. Instead, the affidavit states that when Malone exited the apartment, the seller said Malone held him down with a black handgun and took the vehicle, allowing the seller’s 8-year-old son out of the Mustang, before stealing his wallet, threatening him, and then taking off in the vehicle.
Malone is also charged with a series of battery charges against public safety officials at the Elkhart County Juvenile Detention Center.
JORDAN COLE
The trial of a robbery suspect continued in court proceedings on Thursday. Jordan Cole, 21, Elkhart, had his trial moved from August 21 to April 1.
Cole was originally dealing with a battery charge from February 2021, but authorities also charge him and Tyris Jennings with a series of robberies on March 27, 2019.
Police say the two men shot a 45-year-old man while robbing a Kentucky Fried Chicken and later a Burger King that day. The shooting left the KFC employee paralyzed. Warrants for the duo were issued in June, according to police, due to surveillance footage and testimony from the men. Cole was arrested on August 24.
On Thursday, Cole’s attorney Donald Berger’s motion to withdraw his appearance was approved and Cole received Johnson as a public defender.
Dani Messick is the education and entertainment reporter for The Goshen News. She can be reached at dani.messick@goshennews.com or 574-538-2065.