GREENWOOD, Ind. — A Greenwood man accused of killing his father Monday was arrested in Michigan Tuesday, after a night on the run.
Jacob M. Moran, 22, was taken into custody by Michigan State Police just north of the Indiana state line.
Around 6:45 p.m. on Aug. 28 at the corner of Euclid Avenue and Greenwood Street, neighbor Bryan Harris heard the violence that shattered his normally quiet neighborhood: a shot from across the street.
"I was in our back patio, heard a gunshot. That sound, you never forget that sound," Harris said. "And then, I heard the wife screaming, so I knew something bad had happened."
Greenwood police said Jacob killed his own father after a fight about moving out of the house in the 400 block of Euclid Avenue.
Investigators found 45-year-old Shaun Moran dead in the family's garage from a single gunshot to the back.
"It was anger, rage. It's my understanding that the father was asking or telling the suspect he had to move out, and that appeared to upset him," Greenwood Asst. Police Chief Matthew Fillenwarth said. "It's kind of the drastic end of the spectrum when you take a gun and shoot your father to death."
Police said the suspect took off in a white BMW. They sent out a warning that Moran was armed and dangerous. License plate cameras started to track him in Indianapolis, pinging pictures of the car near the homes of Moran's relatives.
"We were getting hits on that car and that plate," Fillenwarth said. "What was described to me is we were about a half hour behind him every time we'd go to check."
Then, the trail went cold until Tuesday morning — 200 miles away in Sturgis, Michigan.
Investigators said a Michigan State Police trooper found Moran sleeping in that same white car on a dead-end street.
"He was parked at the end of some road just north of the Indiana state line. The Michigan State Police trooper pulled up and checked on him," Fillenwarth said. "Obviously, we had him on the nationwide network, he's wanted in connection with this homicide."
Police said the father and son had a history of domestic problems. Court records show the victim, Shaun, had a long list of domestic battery arrests. And officers responded to the house on Euclid Avenue for Jacob twice the day of the murder, hours before the homicide.
"So they were already looking for the suspect at the time the homicide occurred for domestic battery charges against his father," Fillenwarth said.
Neighbors said they knew there'd been problems at the home, too. But Harris said Shaun Moran was getting his life together, and he never thought things would end like this.
"Shaun was troubled, but he had a new family, a new baby girl, began training to become a truck driver," Harris said. "It's too bad. Shaun was beginning to turn his life around, just sad to see that. It's a tragedy all around."
A probable cause affidavit showed just before 1 p.m. on Aug. 28, an officer responded to a family dispute at the address. At that time, Shaun reportedly told police he was physically assaulted by his son, who had fled the scene. Officers believed Shaun's shirt collar appeared stretched out, and that his right cheek and neck looked red.
Shaun told police then that his son had been staying with him at his home, and that he had been staying at the home for one and half weeks because he did not not have anywhere else to go, according to court documents. Shaun told police Jacob had begged to stay with him, and mentioned the two had not spoken in five years. Shaun allegedly told police Jacob was verbally aggressive and disrespectful of his property and, when Shaun told his son he was no longer welcome in the home, Jacob physically assaulted him.
Shaun's son allegedly punched him in the right side of his face, grabbed him in a headlock and wrestled him to the ground. Shaun's stepson pulled Jacob off him, according to court documents. Jacob reportedly fled the home shortly after.
Later that day though, shortly after 4:30 p.m., another 911 came in to Johnson County police from the same location, and that people were yelling and screaming in the background. Dispatch advised police as they neared the scene that Jacob had returned, broken into the residence, struck the caller and left the scene in a white BMW passenger car.
Shaun told police his son assaulted him yet again and threatened to return with his gun.
Investigators in Greenwood said Jacob, who's still in Michigan right now, will likely face not only a murder charge, but also domestic violence charges — plus likely charges out-of-state for allegedly having a concealed weapon in Michigan.
NOTE: The Johnson County coroner confirmed the spelling of the victim's first name as Shaun, instead of what Greenwood Police provided as Shawn.