Appeals court affirms conviction in 2024 road-rage shooting on I-65

After a road-rage incident left one truck driver seriously injured, a state appeals court recently affirmed convictions against the Indianapolis shooter and his wife.

On June 26, the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld James Brown’s attempted murder conviction for his role in an interstate shooting in 2024. Brown was sentenced to 30 years, 20 of which are to be executed in the Indiana Department of Correction.

In May, the court affirmed a Level 3 felony conviction for Brown’s wife, Kendra Johnson-Brown. A Boone County jury originally sentenced her to eight years for aiding, inducing or causing aggravated battery.

“This was a deliberate and coordinated act of violence on one of our busiest roadways,” Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood said in a press release on Monday. “These decisions affirm the jury’s verdict and ensure accountability for this senseless and dangerous conduct.”

According to court documents, on July 3, 2024, Johnson-Brown was driving a black car north on a busy Interstate 65 in Boone County, near the Whitestown exit. Her husband, Brown, sat in the passenger seat.

A semitrailer driven by Zangar Barnard was also on the interstate alongside the couple.

Johnson-Brown repeatedly moved in front of Barnard, who was in the center lane, and would “brake check” Barnard when she got in front of him.

Another semi driver, Nathan Justus, was driving in the right lane. Justus began passing Barnard.

Johnson-Brown was still in front of Barnard when Justus had almost finished passing.

Justus then honked his air horn. But as soon as he honked, Barnard saw Brown point a gun out of the passenger window and fire one shot at Justus, court documents say.

The bullet hit the left side of Justus’s head, causing him to lose control of his semi.

Johnson-Brown then moved from the center lane to the left lane and continued driving. According to court documents, neither she nor Brown called 911 or reported the incident to law enforcement.

Justus was later taken to the hospital and underwent emergency surgery. After the incident, Justus developed paralysis on his right side and significant speech issues.

Law enforcement later identified Brown and Johnson-Brown through local business videos and license plate readers.

Police then executed a search warrant of the couple’s home and car, where they found the handgun used in the shooting and a cell phone containing photos of Justus’s truck from the time of the incident.

Before the 2025 jury trial in Boone County, Brown filed a motion to exclude Justus as a witness, questioning his memory of the incident. Although the trial court agreed that Justus could not remember the shooting, it permitted him to testify about other matters.

On appeal, Brown argued that the trial court should have held another hearing on his motion to exclude Justus as a witness, and he contended that the evidence against was insufficient to support his attempted murder conviction. Johnson-Brown also appealed on sufficiency grounds.

But the appellate court denied the couple’s separate arguments, finding that the evidence was sufficient for both of their convictions. The court also ruled that because there was no dispute that Justus lacked memory of the shooting at the pretrial conference, there was no need for a further proceeding.

Attorneys for Brown and Johnson-Brown did not immediately respond to a request for comment.