BEDFORD – A Shoals man was sentenced Thursday to 16 years and 500 days after he shot a man in the stomach.
On September 30, 2022, Dustin Weldon in a negotiated plea deal pleaded guilty to aggravated battery. Charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery, criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, possession of a handgun without a license, battery with a deadly weapon, carrying a handgun without a license, possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer, unauthorized entry of a motor vehicle, possession of meth, possession of marijuana, and possession of drug paraphernalia.
Judge Bob Cline sentenced Weldon to the maximum sentence of 16 years and then to an additional 500 days on a probation violation from a prior case.
“We had a really strong case as far as the evidence was concerned but unfortunately the victim, in this case, would not testify in court or cooperate with the prosecution, previous experience has demonstrated that the jury would not look favorably on such facts at the trial level,” said Lawrence County Prosecutor Sam Arp. “The end result here is that a dangerous person has been removed from our community for a very long time.”
On Thursday, May 12th, at 10:16 a.m. Bedford Police Dispatch received a 911 call advising of shots fired near the 1000 block of K Street. The caller reported he had been shot in the stomach by 34-year-old Dustin Weldon, of Shoals, outside of the Hauck House and Weldon had fled the area on foot.
The caller stated that Weldon had stolen from him, and he confronted him and that is when Weldon shot him with a .380 handgun.
Officers rushed to the scene and found Paul Mitchell in an apartment where he lived. Mitchell had suffered one gunshot to the abdomen and the officers began immediate medical assistance. Mitchell advised he and Weldon were in the “north lot” and that Weldon had fled north after shooting him. Mitchell was transported by an IU LifeLine ambulance crew to IU Bedford Hospital for treatment.
Police then secured the north parking lot on the west side of the building, near the intersection of 13th and L streets. On the east side of the lot between the first and second parked vehicles, officers located a spent .380 caliber casing.
Officers continued checking the area and located Weldon near Hawkins Bailey Warehouse at 1101 12th Street.
Weldon was taken into custody without incident.
Weldon told officers he had hidden the gun in a bush on the north side of the Hauck House and left his backpack near the storage units at 12th and K streets. A Detective located the firearm, a black Taurus .380, in a bush on the north side of 13th Street across from the Hauck House. The firearm had a loaded magazine, the slide was back, and it appeared that the firearm had malfunctioned and jammed. Officers located a black Outdoor Products backpack near the storage units on K Street. The backpack, shirt, and hat were stuffed between two of the storage buildings.
Officers went to IU Health Hospital to speak to Mitchell. He told police he has been seeing Weldon’s sister, and that she had stayed with him at the apartment the night before. Weldon came to his apartment the morning of the shooting. Mitchell said Weldon and his sister had gotten into an argument. Mitchell noticed that a dresser drawer in his bedroom wasn’t properly shut and discovered some of his metal lighters and his smartwatch were missing.
Mitchell went outside to confront Weldon about the stolen items and found Weldon in between two vehicles on the west side of the building.
Mitchell confronted Weldon about the missing items. That is when Weldon pulled a black .380 handgun from near his waistband and proceeded to shoot Mitchell in the stomach and then ran off.
Officers applied for a search warrant to search the contents of the backpack, and the warrant was granted by Judge Bob Cline. In the backpack officers found a glass smoking pipe with meth residue and a baggie of marijuana,
Weldon refused to speak to the police without an attorney.
Detectives then reviewed the video footage provided by the Bedford Housing Authority at the Hauck House. In this video, you can see Weldon and Mitchell in the parking lot on the northwest side of the Hauck House. Weldon appears to be walking away to the north when Mitchell approaches from behind him. Weldon makes a right turn around some bushes along the north side of the parking lot, and Mitchell walks between two cars to his right, possibly trying to cut off Weldon’s path on the other side of the bushes. Weldon then comes back around the bushes from the same side and rushes in between the two cars where Mitchell is walking. Weldon has his hands together in front of him instead of swinging by his sides in a normal walking motion, and it looks as though Weldon has something concealed in his hands near his waistband. Mitchell and Weldon stand between the cars for several seconds and there is movement, but the camera view of this spot is partially obstructed by a tree. The two appear to be in a physical struggle with each other, then Weldon runs out from between the cars and flees north. Mitchell walks out holding his stomach and walks south.
Police then learn Weldon had unlawfully entered a vehicle belonging to Rick’s Towing. A witness said Weldon was inside the passenger compartment of the vehicle and was rummaging through the center console. Police believe that Weldon was trying to steal the vehicle.
