LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The man accused in the shooting deaths of two people at a Jeffersontown Kroger has been indicted on two counts of murder.
Gregory Bush, 51, was indicted Wednesday by a Jefferson County grand jury in the shootings a week ago at the Stony Brook Kroger. Bush also was indicted on one count of criminal attempted murder and two counts of first-degree wanton endangerment.
Officials announced the indictments at a news conference Wednesday afternoon.
The two counts of murder are for the deaths of Maurice Stallard and Vickie Jones -- plus attempted murder and wanton endangerment charges for actions against the armed man who tried to shoot Bush, that man's wife, and Stallard's 12-year-old grandson
The attempted murder charge stems from Bush's actions toward the armed man who confronted him, Dominiic Rozier. Rozier said Wednesday that Bush approached him and his wife as they headed into Kroger to get supplies for their son's first birthday.
“When he pulled the gun, my husband said, Don’t do this'" Kiera Rozier said. "And before he could even say it, the guy had the gun pointed at me.”
“I protected me and my wife at the end of the day," Dominiic Rozier added.
Bush's case will proceed to Jefferson County Circuit Court in Louisville, but Commonwealth's Attorney Tom Wine says it's too early in the process to say if his office will seek the death penalty.
The current charges could carry a sentence of up to life behind bars.
A federal prosecutor has said investigators are trying to determine if there were any violations of federal law, including potential civil rights violations such as hate crimes. Bush is white, and the two victims were black.
“The United States Attorney’s Office, DOJ Civil Rights Division, and the FBI have an open and active federal hate crimes investigation that will be thorough and prompt, aimed at collecting the evidence necessary to meet the standards required for charging under the federal hate crimes and related laws,” U.S. Attorney Russell M. Coleman said in a statement after the indictments were announced.
“Experienced civil rights prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Civil Rights Division are assigned to this matter, including prosecutors who have charged and taken to trial hate crime murders," Coleman said. "Those prosecutors and all of us are working to ensure that justice will be done in this case. In the interim, Mr. Bush remains detained and is no further threat to the public.”
Bush is being held on a $5 million bond.
Previous:
- Louisville faith leaders call for state's hate crime laws to be strengthened after Kroger shooting
- Family and friends remember 'beautiful' and 'selfless' victims of Jeffersontown Kroger shooting
- Accused Kroger shooter has history of mental illness and racist comments
- Man arrested after 2 people are shot and killed at Jeffersontown Kroger
Copyright 2018 WDRB Media. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
