An Indianapolis man with a lengthy criminal history faces new charges after police arrested him for allegedly stabbing a 69-year-old man at a Lawrence gas station.
Police identified the suspect as 41-year-old Courtney Boose. Officers said he stabbed the victim earlier this week, leaving him in critical condition. Hospital staff continue to treat the victim as he recovers.
Court records show Boose refused to comply with officers when they approached him at the gas station. He allegedly tried to leave the scene before an officer deployed a taser and handcuffed him.
Boose is being held at the Marion County Jail on a $50,000 bond.
Indianapolis Fraternal Order of Police President Rick Snyder expressed outrage over the case. “We’re really confronted by our after-the-fact, ‘Billy Badass’ prosecutor and our ‘woke, broke’ criminal justice system,” Snyder told “The Hammer and Nigel Show.”
Snyder criticized Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears for reducing Boose’s charge from attempted murder to aggravated battery.
“That means this case, without even taking its first breath in the court system, has automatically been downgraded and reduced, cutting the possible sentencing range from an attempted murder at 20 to 40 years of imprisonment, all the way down to three years to 16 years,” Snyder said.
Boose has nearly 100 prior arrests, with charges ranging from trespassing and theft to battery and drug crimes. Records indicate that most cases ended in dismissals or plea deals. Despite his history, he has never served time in prison.
“What’s the number of times where somebody in a black robe says, ‘you know what, I don’t think this guy is getting it,’” Snyder asked.
Snyder also raised concerns about broader crime trends in the city.
“The daily headlines show that mass shootings, mass murders, and mass carnage keep going up,” he said. “This shows the devaluing of the sanctity of life here in our capital city.”