BOONVILLE, Ind. — Two men allegedly shot and injured a person in Newburgh on Monday evening after they conspired to rob the victim of more than $5,000 in recent casino winnings.
That's according to the Warrick County Sheriff's Office, whose detectives arrested 27-year-old Austin Morgan of Newburgh and 24-year-old Khalid Moore of Evansville on Tuesday.
Morgan and Moore both face preliminary charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery and robbery resulting in bodily injury, both Level 3 felonies, according to public records.
Moore, who is alleged to have shot the victim, faces an additional preliminary charge of battery by means of a deadly weapon.
Monday shooting captured on video by neighbors
Moore and Morgan's arrests come after shots rang out in the 2800 block of JoEllen Lane − a residential street lined with private homes and apartments in Newburgh − just before 6:15 p.m. Monday.
According to an affidavit of probable cause, the victim and his girlfriend had traveled to a JoEllen Lane apartment from the French Lick Casino, where the victim won $5,700, less than half an hour before the shooting.
The victim and his girlfriend reportedly made the stop at the apartment to drop off their friend and her child.
Morgan, who detectives said is an acquaintance of the victim, was already at the JoEllen Lane apartment when the group returned from French Lick. Morgan had allegedly entered into a conspiracy with Moore − who would soon arrive at the apartment − to rob the victim of his winnings, according to detectives.
As the victim exited the apartment with his girlfriend and their child a short time later, "a dark gray Chevy Impala pulled in somewhat behind their vehicle," the affidavit states.
A man clad in all black and a face mask, later identified by detectives as Moore, then allegedly approached them with a weapon drawn and demanded that the victim hand over the casino winnings.
Neighbors told investigators what happened next.
"They reported seeing two males get into a fight and then gunshots go off," Warrick County Sheriff Mike Wilder told the Courier & Press.
Moore allegedly shot the victim in the knee with a 10mm round during the scuffle, inflicting non-life-threatening injuries.
"(The victim) informed officers he really didn't know what happened after being shot," the affidavit states.
Video and audio footage captured by neighbors - and published by local news media - shows part of what happened in the shooting's immediate aftermath: A dark gray sedan is seen speeding away from the scene as a man yells, "It's all on camera motherf---er."
Flock Safety cameras aided investigation
Moore was allegedly behind the wheel of the Impala, while Morgan − who had stayed inside the apartment − rushed outside and began "acting as if he was helping (the victim) and chased (Moore) off," Wilder said.
But according to Wilder, Morgan had told Moore before the shooting that he would notify him when the victim returned from the French Lick Casino, setting the robbery in motion.
By the time first responders arrived at the apartment, the victim had already been taken to a local hospital for treatment. Morgan remained at the scene, according to his arrest affidavit, and at first denied having any involvement in the shooting.
Morgan reportedly said he saw the victim "and a black male tussling in the yard," the affidavit states, before going on to claim that "(the victim) had the gun."
But a detective who searched Morgan's phone claimed that Morgan's text message history between 11 a.m. and 6 p.m. Monday appeared to have been wiped clean — a gap in time that "appeared suspicious," a detective wrote, because "Morgan texts frequently."
The Warrick County Sheriff's Office sent out a department-wide alert regarding the Chevrolet Impala that had been captured on video footage fleeing the scene. Wilder said detectives used the county's Flock Safety automatic license-plate reading cameras to track the vehicle down.
According to detectives, the cameras captured images of the Impala driving eastbound on IN 66 near Epworth Road at 5:45 p.m., about two minutes after the shooting. Its license plate reportedly showed the vehicle was registered in Moore's name.
A search of an internal, sheriff's office database for Moore turned up a physical description that matched that of the suspected shooter, Moore's arrest affidavit states.
When detectives traveled to an address associated with Moore, they said they observed the same Chevrolet Impala parked outside.
During a later police interview, Morgan is alleged to have confessed his involvement.
"Morgan informed me that he and Khalid (Moore) planned the robbery," a detective wrote in Morgan's arrest affidavit. "Morgan stated that he assumed that (the victim) would have money since he had been at the casino."
Detectives executed a search warrant at Moore's residence and claimed to have recovered a box for the same make and model of handgun that had been fired during the shooting.
The weapon itself was reportedly recovered from a vehicle that had been present at the scene, though witnesses could not say how or when it was stashed there, according to detectives.
The serial number inscribed on the weapon allegedly matched that of the serial number inscribed on the box that detectives allegedly seized from Moore's home.
Sheriff doesn't anticipate additional arrests
Wilder told the Courier & Press on Tuesday that the victim was still hospitalized but is expected to make a full recovery. He assured the community that the incident appeared to have been isolated and that he did not believe additional suspects were at large.
"This crime was committed on that street because these two gentlemen knew him and that he was going to have money on him at the time," Wilder said. "We are still investigating, but we don't expect to make any more arrests at this time."
Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com .
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Monday shooting in Newburgh linked to robbery of casino winnings; arrests made
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