Clark County, Indiana, judge feared for his life: 'This is where it's going to end'

JEFFERSONVILLE, Ind. (WDRB) -- Andrew Adams thought he was going to die.

"I recall being shot in the abdomen and then turning, walking a few steps and then ... kind of dropping to my knees," Adams said. "I recall thinking that, 'This is where it's going to end."

Last May, outside of an Indianapolis White Castle, Adams, a Clark County Circuit Court judge, two other judges and two men had gotten into an argument that turned into a fist fight. Shots were fired that left two of the combatants, including Adams, fighting for their lives.

Adams, Clark County Judge Brad Jacobs and Crawford County Judge Sabrina Bell had been in Indianapolis for a judicial conference. They were waiting for a fourth judge in the restaurant’s parking lot when they got into a verbal confrontation with two men.

Adams said he doesn't remember how it all started, but he does remember what happened next.

"I got (punched) and I dropped to the ground," he said.

He and Jacobs fought back, he said, but the two men, Brandon Kaiser and Alfredo Vasquez, had brought a gun. Police said Kaiser shot Adams and then shot Jacobs twice in the chest.

Adams said he recalls thinking, "‘I can't believe I've just been shot.’"

"I heard some screaming,” he said. “I could see them applying pressure to Judge Jacobs. Got myself back up and walked over to where he was laying. I kneeled down on my hands, or my knees and told him, 'We're going to make it.’”

Bell called 911, and medics rushed Adams and Jacobs to a hospital.

"I remember laying and looking up at the lights in the emergency room,” Adams said. “I immediately thought of my family, my children."

He said he feels lucky to be alive.

The judges survived the shooting, but all three were suspended by the Indiana Supreme Court, and Adams pleaded guilty to misdemeanor battery.

Adams spoke publicly about the events for the first time on camera Friday.

"I did draw the short end of the straw,” he said. “I was, in fact, the one charged and convicted."

Police and witnesses acknowledge that Adams did not start the fight or throw the first punch. According to court records, Bell told police, "I feel like this is all my fault" and said she responded to comments from Kaiser and Vasquez by giving them the middle finger.

Nonetheless, Adams said he feels at least partially responsible.

"From the outset, I knew I had done wrong," he said. "I took responsibility for my actions. I participated in the fight."

Adams said as an officer of the court, he is held to a higher standard.

"For it to be a fight, it takes two," he said.

Adams said he didn’t follow one of his own rules.

“I've always told my children, ‘Nothing good happens after midnight,’” he said.

Adams, a Democrat, is up for reelection this year. Two Republicans are vying in the primary in May to get a chance to unseat Adams in November. Adams said he hopes he is judged by more than just the one incident that made national headlines.

"Although it's an embarrassment,” he said, “it doesn't overshadow all of the great things that I've done or participated in as a judge."

In the last five years, Adams said he and his team have done “tremendous work” for the community, including an adult guardianship program, veterans court and a mental health program for inmates.

"It's just trying to coordinate and link people in our community," he said.

Adams said his passion for helping people in need comes from his 15-years in private practice.

"And I recall getting the same clients back again and again,” he said. “When I took the bench, I wanted to help people."

Despite the pain and embarrassment of what happened in Indianapolis, Adams said he will use the experience to help others.

"Probably asking the prosecutors to do more in reference to victim relationships than I would have before,” he said.

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