Shelby Thomas appeared in Starke Circuit Court on Friday where he plead not guilty to three counts of Attempted Murder, four counts of Intimidation with a Deadly Weapon and three counts of Resisting Law Enforcement with a Deadly Weapon.
Thomas, of North Judson, was arrested on Sunday, October 16th after he allegedly threatened to kill a Knox man in the 1400 block of west 400 S. in Knox as he held a knife up against his throat. The man got away and Thomas was later questioned about the incident. When officers from the Knox City Police Department and the Starke County Sheriff’s Department asked Thomas to place his hands behind his back, his demeanor reportedly turned to anger. He then reached behind his back to remove a knife from his pants line and threatened the lives of two of the officers trying to place him into custody. The blade on the knife was 10 to 12 inches in length and Thomas reportedly began swinging the knife at the three officers and telling them, “I’m not going back to prison. You’ll have to kill me first.” Thomas was then tasered and officers were able to free the knife from Thomas’ hands. Thomas was tasered twice before he released the knife that he reportedly swung at the officers.
He was placed into custody and continued to threaten the lives of the officers and others at the scene. He told one officer that he would kill him and his family if he arrested him. He also threatened to kill another man at the scene who was questioned about the incident. He continued to threaten the officer while detained at the Starke County Jail. He allegedly told police that he wasn’t going back to prison and that the officers would have to kill him first.
He is being held in the Starke County Jail on $250,000 bond.
