Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
Jury selection began in Kosciusko Circuit Court this morning in the trial of a Shipshewana man for attempted murder.
Criss E. Duncan, 43, of Shipshewana, is accused of firing an M-16 rifle at Milford Town Marshal David Hobbs after robbing a bank in Leesburg May 27, 2003.
Duncan and Ralph Berkey Jr., 34, of Elkhart, entered the National City Bank in Leesburg around 10:30 a.m. May 27, 2003, dressed in full fatigue clothes and body armor and armed with rifles. The pair fled the bank with around $44,000 in cash and headed toward Milford, where they were stopped by Hobbs.
As Hobbs approached their vehicle on foot to ask if they had any information about the van police were looking for in connection with the robbery, he saw that a passenger was squatting on the floor of the pickup and allegedly was holding a rifle pointed at Hobbs.
Hobbs exchanged fire with Berkey and Duncan, and Hobbs' patrol car was damaged by bullets. No one was injured in the incident.
Duncan and Berkey were taken into custody without incident during a traffic stop May 31, 2003, and were later charged in federal court with armed robbery.
In December 2003, Duncan was convicted in U.S. District Court I, Lafayette, of four charges in connection with the robbery. He was convicted of armed bank robbery, using a firearm during a crime of violence, being a convicted felon in possession of a gun and arson. The first three charges arose from the May robbery. Duncan's prior felony conviction is for voluntary manslaughter in Elkhart County in 1983.
The arson charge related to Duncan and Berkey burning the van they used for the robbery before switching to another vehicle for their escape.
Duncan was sentenced to 38 years and one month in prison for his role in the robbery.
Berkey testified against Duncan in the trial as part of an October 2003 plea agreement with the government.
In Kosciusko Circuit Court March 11, 2004, Berkey accepted a charge of attempted manslaughter as a lesser and included offense of attempted murder in his plea agreement. He originally was charged with attempted murder, but the charge was reduced per agreement. Berkey was sentenced to 20 years in prison, a $1 fine and court costs. Judge Rex Reed, Kosciusko Circuit Court, ordered the sentence served concurrent to the federal charge against Berkey for armed bank robbery.
