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UPDATE: Teen accused of shooting at Clarksville police chief’s home charged with attempted murder

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A 17-year-old has been charged as an adult for attempted murder after police say he fired shots at Clarksville Police Chief Mark Palmer's home in September.

Indiana State Police have arrested a teen they say fired shots at Clarksville Police Chief Mark Palmer’s home in September.

Samuel D. Jaggers, 17, was arrested Tuesday in Floyd County on a warrant for two level 1 felonies for attempted murder and a level 5 felony for criminal recklessness with a firearm.

Court records show Jaggers and several others had gone to the chief’s home to fight someone, however, the chief doesn’t appear to be the intended target. The person they were supposed to fight had given the chief’s address to throw them off.

Jaggers is charged as an adult in the case and held on a $750,000 cash only bond. He pleaded not guilty during an initial hearing Wednesday in Clark County Circuit Court No. 4.

WFPL News previously reported officers responded to Evergreen Drive in Clarksville on a report of shots fired around 3:30 a.m. Sept. 18.

Court records show seven bullets from a 9mm handgun were fired at the home, with four of the recovered rounds found inside the residence. There were no injuries.

Following the incident, investigators asked the public for tips including any video surveillance footage from the area.

Investigators reviewed footage which showed several young people in the area of the shooting around 3:30 a.m., with a Toyota Corolla police say belongs to Jaggers. They also say his phone was in the area at the time.

Records show Jaggers admitted to investigators in late September that he and others had gone to that address to fight someone but didn’t say who the others were or who the intended fight was with. He said after no one came out, they started to leave when another member of the group, who he didn’t name, fired at the house.

When asked during the same interview, Jaggers said his DNA and fingerprints would be found on the weapon, which he said he’d discarded in Louisville. Investigators recovered the weapon and say it matched shots fired on Evergreen Drive.

Throughout the investigation, police spoke with others including a minor identified only by initials in court documents. He told officers he was supposed to fight Jaggers, and when he heard there were others there to fight him as well, he knowingly gave the chief’s address instead.

It’s not clear if any of the others involved have or will be charged, but the case remains under investigation.

Jaggers’ next hearing is set for Dec. 12.

This story has been updated.

Coverage of Southern Indiana is funded, in part, by Samtec, Inc. and the Hazel & Walter T. Bales Foundation.

Aprile Rickert is LPM's Southern Indiana reporter. Email Aprile at arickert@lpm.org.