Jacob Rice
A Bartholomew Circuit Court jury did not accept the prosecutor’s argument that a defendant tried to murder a Columbus police officer last year in the Forest Park residential neighborhood.
However, the six-man, six woman jury did find Jacob D. Rice, 39, guilty of the four remaining felony counts filed against him.
As the trial opened, public defender Chris Monroe admitted crimes did take place involving his client. However, Monroe said in his opening statements that he would prove Rice did not attempt to murder a police officer.
Following nearly seven hours of deliberations that ended Thursday night, the jury found Rice not guilty of trying to kill Columbus Police Sgt. Lukas Nibarger last year in the Forest Park residential neighborhood. If he had been found guilty of the Level 1 felony, it could have resulted in an additional sentence of 20 to 40 years behind bars.
However, the jury did find Rice, 39, guilty of the four lesser felony counts filed against him.
He was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony, criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon as a Level 6 felony, theft of a firearm as a Level 6 felony and theft of property (a bicycle) as a Level 6 felony.
Rice could receive between four to 22 years in prison, as well as fines of up to $40,000. A sentencing hearing is expected to be scheduled within a few weeks.
A few hours before dawn on the morning of June 27, 2021, an audio/video system linked to a security system alerted a vacationing homeowner in Ohio that someone was trespassing on his Grove Parkway property. After watching video of his house on a mobile device for about 20 minutes to see if the trespasser would leave, the homeowner notified emergency dispatchers in Columbus.
While approaching the home, Nibarger testified that he saw Rice attempting to look through the windows of the home.
Prosecutors claimed Rice fired a 9mm Smith & Wesson M&P Shield handgun at the officer after Nibarger identified himself as a police officer and demanded that he raise his hands. But after being presented the evidence, the jury maintained it had not been proven beyond a reasonable doubt that Rice intentionally tried to kill Nibarger.
However, Rice was found guilty of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon as a Level 4 felony, criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon as a Level 6 felony, theft of a firearm as a Level 6 felony and theft of property (a bicycle) as a Level 6 felony.
On those charges, Rice could receive a sentence of as little as four years – and as much as 22 years, as well as fines of up to $40,000. A sentencing hearing has not yet been scheduled.
What the jurors were not told during the trial or their deliberations was that a habitual offender status was filed against the defendant that could lengthen the sentence. State law says if a jury knows a defendant is accused of being a habitual offender, it could prejudice them against the person on trial.
In Indiana, being declared a habitual offender is not a separate crime and does not result in a consecutive sentence. But it does allow the judge to attach the habitual offender enhancement to the Level 4 felony.
