Trial of accused Jon Samuelson shooter set for February 2027

LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. -- The trial of the man accused of shooting La Porte County sheriff's deputy Jon Samuelson at Franciscan Health in Michigan City has been scheduled.

During a court hearing October 9, a judge confirmed the jury trial of Sharod Grafton will start either February 1 or February 8, 2027.

A recent change of venue request from the defense was denied; jurors from four different counties "outside of pretrial publicity" are being pursued.

Grafton's Public Defender, Hyrum Laturner, has spoken with two counties willing to help and is waiting to hear back from the other two.

"The state has a very heavy burden, and what we're looking for in a jury, and why this publicity has been so difficult, is precisely because it has presented a case to the public that's already decided he's guilty of something, and so how do you get jurors to come in and believe from the start that he's innocent, and that he's innocent unless proven guilty?" says Laturner, "What has been presented is a guy who's guilty, and now it's as if he has to prove he's not. Right. So, the presumption of innocence is he didn't do it, and the state has to prove he did, but what has been publicized is he's the guy. He had a gun. He did the shooting. All of that is like pre-established, which is just not the case."

A plea deal previously floated by La Porte County Prosecutor Sean Fagan was not mentioned. The deal would have removed weapons enhancement charges, which would have added a potential 15 to 20 years to Grafton's sentence.

Laturner tells ABC57 that it is possible the trial will be pushed further back, and they expect more clarity during a November 20 hearing.