By John Estridge
No charges will be filed in the 2020 shooting death of Franklin County resident Benny Flannery.
Flannery, 46 at the time of his death, was shot in the chest at a Batesville apartment on Labor Day, September 7, 2020. Initially, it was determined a 17-year-old male resident of the apartment shot Flannery while Flannery attacked the teenager’s mother in the apartment’s kitchen. Because of that determination, Batesville Police Chief Stan Holt and Franklin County Prosecutor Chris Huerkamp decided not to detain the teenager following the shooting.
“In addition to calling 911 immediately, the juvenile and his mother were cooperative with responding officers and investigators,” Huerkamp said in a recent press release.
Even though those were the determinations at the scene, a complete investigation was initiated by the Batesville Police Department, and the results of that investigation were delivered to Huerkamp in late December 2020.
“I received the full investigative report from the Batesville Police last month,” Huerkamps said. “Upon review, I have determined that the evidence is clear that the shooting was, in fact, a justifiable use of deadly force and therefore no charges will be pursued.”
Huerkamp said the investigation included but was not limited to 911 calls, witness statements, physical evidence from the scene, and Flannery’s autopsy report.
According to the investigation, the 17-year-old was awakened by the commotion and his mother’s calls for help. The 17-year-old “got a 12-gauge shotgun from the safe, loaded it and headed toward the kitchen.
“There, he found Flannery holding his mother by her throat, up against a wall, while wielding the knife,” Huerkamp said in the press release. “She was begging Flannery to stop the attack. The juvenile told Flannery to let his mother go or he would shoot. Flanner refused, and the fatal shot to the chest followed.”
Huerkamp said the teenager should be considered a hero in saving his mother’s life.
“This young man’s quick thinking and incredibly brave actions probably saved his mother’s life,” Huerkamp said. “At 8 in the morning on a holiday, he was confronted with an almost unimaginable scene — a violent criminal attacking his mother at knifepoint in the kitchen. It’s easy to say what you think you would do in a situation like this, but no one — especially no high school-aged kid — would ever want to face this in reality. He is a HERO. Period.”
Capitalizations are Huerkamp’s in the press release.
All of those factors confirmed that the shooting was indeed justified under the circumstances, Huerkamp said.
“Based on the totality of the evidence, it is crystal clear to me that the only individual committing any violent crimes that morning was Mr. Flannery,” Huerkamp said. “It is my firm opinion that not only were this young man’s actions legally justifiable, but that he acted heroically, and probably saved his mother’s life.”
Huerkamp said Flannery’s actions on that morning were forcible felonies. They were “Intimidation and Battery while Armed with a Deadly Weapon and Domestic Battery.”
“Therefore, the juvenile’s use of deadly force was reasonable and legally justifiable under the circumstances to prevent Flannery from continuing the vicious attack on his mother,” Huerkamp said in the release.
Huerkamp then stated Indiana’s Stand Your Ground Law and his understanding of the statute.
“a person: (1) is justified in using deadly force; and; (2) does not have a duty to retreat, if that person reasonably believes that force is necessary to prevent serious bodily injury to the person or a third person or the commission of a forcible felony (citation: I.C. 35-41-3-2(c)). This is otherwise known as the doctrine of self-defense or defense of others, which serves as a complete bar to criminal prosecution.”
Also, Flannery had an extensive criminal history and had recently been released from prison just months before his death, Huerkamp said.
“It should be noted that Benny Flannery had an extensive criminal history,” Huerkamp said. “In fact, he was released from the Indiana Department of Corrections in December 2019, after serving sentences for Robbery, Dealing Methamphetamine, Theft, and Possession of Narcotics. He had also served prison time in the 2000s as a result of previous felony convictions.”
Flannery’s actions on that morning are unfortunately not an aberration, but are actions that are too often acted out, Huerkamp said.
“This case highlights a disturbing trend — the rise of domestic violence in Indiana,” Huerkamp said. “According to the Indiana Coalition Against Domestic Violence, Indiana saw a 102 percent increase in domestic-violence-related deaths from March 1, 2020 – December 2020 compared to the same period the previous year. There were three DV-related deaths in the Batesville area alone in 2020 – although there hadn’t been one since 2016.”
Huerkamp said he received his statistics from Safe Passage, Inc. He also wanted to make sure the public is aware of Safe Passage Inc. and its services to the communities in this area.
“For victims of family violence in the Ripley/Franklin County Area, Safe Passage, Inc. can provide resources to help with safety or just someone to talk to 24 hours a day, seven days a week,” Huerkamp said. “They can be reached at 1-877-733-1990 or www.safepassageinc.org. Every service is FREE and completely confidential.”
Huerkamp said everyone who worked the case did a tremendous job.
“In addition to the terrific work from the Batesville Police Department, I would like thank the Franklin County Sheriff’s Department (in particular the 911 Dispatchers), Franklin County Coroner Brian Baxter, and Safe Passage, Inc., for their assistance in the investigation of this incident and its aftermath,” Huerkamp said.
