A Lake County judge rejected a Griffith man’s 11-year plea deal on Friday for shooting a woman’s new boyfriend.
Aaron Belcher, 36, was charged in August 2023 with attempted murder, aggravated battery and battery by means of a deadly weapon. He pleaded guilty in June to aggravated battery.
Judge Salvador Vasquez said the victim, Aaron Swelfer, who appeared and testified during the hearing, was obviously far more debilitated by the shooting than court documents led on.
The judge also recognized that Swelfer had never testified in a sworn deposition during the case’s run. He ordered lawyers to regroup and get his side of the story.
Lawyers said Swelfer’s family had said before that he was severely injured and previously unavailable.
Defense lawyer Michael Woods objected to scuttling the plea.
He said Belcher was nearing the deadline under Indiana Criminal Rule 4, which requires inmates to be released if they have spent 180 days in jail before trial due to prosecution delays.
Although Deputy Prosecutor Jacquelyn Altpeter said they were withdrawing the plea, Vasquez told Woods he was rejecting it — complicating the case to win Belcher’s immediate release until trial.
A hearing on Criminal Rule 4 time, for his possible release, is scheduled Monday. An initial trial date may also be set then, filings show.
Aaron Swelfer appeared to only remember bits and pieces of what happened — Vasquez later told lawyers it was possible they could still end up with a plea deal.
Uriah Swelfer, his older brother, said in a victim impact statement that the sentence was too lenient. His brother spent 40 days in a coma and went back for another skull surgery to relieve pressure.
Belcher “left (him) to die,” he said.
After the shooting, his brother has grown “combative,” “cruel” and “mean.” They were facing lifelong astronomical medical bills. One bill alone was sent for over $700,000, he later said.
His brother was “permanently blind” in his left eye, he had to relearn how to walk, talk and eat, and was left disfigured and in chronic pain.
Belcher was a “career criminal,” he said.
You “should not accept” the plea, Uriah said. Belcher needs a “severe response.”
“Justice demands we hold him accountable,” he said.
Aaron Swelfer next slowly walked to the witness stand with huge surgery scars visible on his head underneath his buzzed haircut.
He was left “constantly in pain”, with a “hole in (his) head” and no vision in one eye, he told Altpeter, who briefly questioned him.
Woods asked Swelfer about his criminal history, which included years-old battery, resisting law enforcement and aggravated battery cases.
Swelfer told Vasquez he only remembered about half of the day of the shooting. When the judge asked, Swelfer nodded at Belcher, saying he shot him.
Swelfer said didn’t know if prosecutors had ever contacted him to testify in a deposition. Another woman was taking care of court matters, and his memory was “in and out.”
Vasquez said in court he met with lawyers in his chambers for more information about a half-hour before the hearing started. He wasn’t aware of “the degree of injuries” or that “half his skull was taken out.”
Now that he saw Swelfer, the victim, it was clear 11 years was “not appropriate.”
Altpeter motioned to withdraw the plea. Prosecutors were “under the impression” until that day when Swelfer showed up on the stand that he wasn’t able to testify, she said.
Woods objected, saying he had not gotten medical records and Swelfer “suddenly” turned up to testify when the lawyer had been told for a year he was unavailable.
Aggravated battery still fit what happened, he argued. To prove attempted murder, prosecutors would have to prove Belcher intended to kill him. Legally, Belcher was entitled to a trial, not Belcher or his family, Woods said. His client “accepted responsibility” and agreed to the 11-year prison term.
Pleas must be reviewed and accepted by a judge.
Multiple police agencies responded just before 2 p.m. Aug. 2, 2023 to the 1100 block of E. Highway 330 in unincorporated Griffith for a reported assault with a firearm.
They saw a woman screaming for help from a window. She said her ex-boyfriend, Belcher, took off in a red truck.
Officers found another man shot lying in front of a back housing unit, charges state. He was bleeding heavily, shot in the head and arm. He had a “bandage” wrapped around his head.
The woman told police Belcher lived with her and was angry after they broke up two weeks earlier. That day, he reportedly argued with the new boyfriend in the kitchen before the shooting.
“You’re not going to break up my family,” Belcher reportedly told the man.
The victim said Belcher maced him before opening fire. Police learned Belcher had been in a relationship with another woman for a few months.
mcolias@post-trib.com
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