Man charged with shooting La Porte County deputy inside hospital pleads not guilty

Man charged with shooting La Porte County officer inside hospital pleads not guilty

The man charged with shooting La Porte County Deputy Jon Samuelson inside a hospital last week pleaded not guilty on Friday.

LA PORTE COUNTY, Ind. - The man charged with shooting La Porte County Deputy Jon Samuelson inside a hospital last week pleaded not guilty on Friday.

Sharod Grafton, 22, appeared in court via Zoom from jail and entered not guilty pleas to attempted murder, battery against a public safety official with a deadly weapon and auto theft. 

Prosecutors also filed sentencing enhancements tied to prior gun-related convictions, which could significantly increase potential prison time if he is found guilty.

The case stems from a May 22 incident in Michigan City in which Samuelson, a 12-year veteran of the La Porte County Sheriff’s Department, was shot during a struggle inside Franciscan Health Michigan City.

Hospital shooting

The backstory:

Samuelson found a disabled silver Chrysler 300 near State Road 2 and County Road 900 West around 6:34 a.m. on May 22 while driving to a training session.

The driver, later identified as 22-year-old Sharod L. Grafton of Chicago, reportedly asked Samuelson for a ride to Franciscan Health Michigan City. Samuelson transported Grafton to the hospital in his marked sheriff’s department K9 vehicle.

After Samuelson arrived at the hospital, another officer alerted dispatch that the Chrysler had been reported stolen during an armed carjacking in Chicago earlier that morning. Grafton's mother told police he pointed a gun at her and demanded the keys to the vehicle before driving away.

Hospital surveillance video showed Samuelson and Grafton entering the emergency room together just before 7 a.m. Samuelson briefly stepped outside while Grafton remained at the front desk.

La Porte County Sheriff's Deputy Jon Samuelson (La Porte County Sheriff's Office)

At 7:01 a.m., Grafton began walking toward the bathroom, while ignoring demands from staff, before Samuelson re-entered the hospital and brought Grafton back to the waiting room.

At that point, Samuelson tried handcuffing Grafton, which is when Grafton resisted, pulled out a tan Glock 42 handgun and pointed it at Samuelson.

Samuelson immediately wrapped his arms around Grafton and they both fell to the ground, where a struggle ensued before they tumbled through the doors into the triage area and two shots rang out.

Doctors later said Samuelson suffered three gunshot wounds; one through his shoulder, one grazing his calf and another entering behind his left ear before lodging near his spine. The injury caused paralysis from the chest down.

Grafton fled the hospital after the shooting and unsuccessfully tried to get into Samuelson’s locked police vehicle.

Surveillance video then showed Grafton hiding briefly in the bed of a hospital employee’s pickup truck before running into a wooded area near the hospital parking lot.

Michigan City police officers searching the area found and arrested Grafton around 7:12 a.m., roughly 10 minutes after the shooting.

Police later recovered the Glock 42 from the bed of the pickup truck. Police said the weapon was jammed when it was found, with a spent casing stuck inside the firearm.