Teen charged with attempted murder seeks bond reduction

Aprile Rickert, The Evening News and the Tribune, Jeffersonville, Ind.
·1 min read

Apr. 14—JEFFERSONVILLE — A Louisville teen charged with stealing a car in downtown Jeffersonville in December, leading police on a chase and trying to hit an officer with the stolen car is seeking a bond reduction.

Austin Parker Warner, 17, is charged with a level 1 felony for attempted murder, a level 6 felony for auto theft, a level 6 felony for resisting law enforcement and class B misdemeanors for criminal recklessness, criminal mischief and leaving the scene of an accident.

He has been held in Clark County jail on a $100,000 cash-only bond since December. A hearing in Clark County Circuit Court No. 4 that was set for Monday has been rescheduled for 9 a.m. April 19.

Court records show Jeffersonville police responded just after 1 a.m. to a report of a car theft on Chestnut Street. The caller said a person identified in records as Warner had jumped out of another vehicle and into the victim's SUV and drove away. Police were able to ping Warner's phone, which was still in the car on nearby Market Street around 1:40 a.m.

An officer tried to make a traffic stop on Warner at Watt and Seventh streets, but said the driver refused to stop, running stop signs and speeding excessively.

As the pursuit continued, police say Warner hit a parked car at Maple and Pearl streets, drove through a fence at the intersection of Mechanic and Maple streets and swerved to try to hit an officer who was placing stop sticks on the roadway. He was arrested after crashing near the intersection of Charlestown Road and Industrial Parkway in Clarksville.

Warner was initially taken to juvenile probation and on Dec. 30, charged as an adult in the case.