BLOOMINGTON – On December 27, 2022, at approximately 5:20 p.m., officers with the Bloomington Police Department responded to the 1500 block of West Kirkwood Avenue in reference to a possible shooting.
A caller reported that they had heard what they believed to be a single gunshot followed by a man yelling that he had been shot.
Responding officers located a 42-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his upper torso in the 200 block of South Westplex Avenue near Wheeler Mission. The victim was transported to an area hospital by ambulance for treatment, where he was reported to be in stable condition.
Investigators were able to determine that the man had been shot in the backyard of a residence in the 1500 block of W Kirkwood Avenue. The victim then walked through a wooded area towards Westplex Avenue, where he had been located by officers.
It was reported that the victim had been arguing with a woman in the residence’s backyard when a man approached him and shot him with a handgun. The victim reported that he attempted to contact 911, but the suspect stole his cell phone, so he began walking toward Westplex Avenue. Officers searched the area but were unable to locate anyone matching the description of the suspect.
As the investigation continued, detectives were able to identify the suspect as Lewis Robert Siegrist, 49, a transient. It was determined that Siegrist had fled from Bloomington and was believed to be at a residence in Spencer, Indiana. Detectives traveled to Spencer, where they began surveilling the residence. At approximately 1:40 a.m. on December 28, 2022, Siegrist was arrested without incident at the Speedway gas station in the 700 block of West Morgan Street in Spencer. At the time of his arrest, he was armed with a 9mm handgun.
Siegrist was transported to the Bloomington Police Department for an interview. Once the interview was complete, Lewis Robert Siegrist was transported to the Monroe County Jail and remanded on the following felony charges attempted murder, robbery while armed with a deadly weapon, possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, criminal recklessness and pointing a firearm.
Siegrist also had an active arrest warrant for the charge of possession of methamphetamine, Level 6 felony.
