FLOYD COUNTY — Criminal charges have been filed against a man who police now say killed his own wife and another person in a gas station parking lot, fled officers, then took a hostage at gunpoint and tried to hit officers with a car.
Cherok A. Douglass, 37, of New Albany, Ind., is currently being held at Floyd County Jail on two counts of murder and one count each of attempted murder, kidnapping while hijacking a vehicle and robbery resulting in serious bodily injuries. All charges are felonies.
Cherok Douglass was shot by responding officers with the New Albany Police Department and Floyd County Sheriff's Department when he tried to run officers over with an SUV he had forced a woman hostage into, according to Indiana State Police. ISP investigated the shooting.
Police first responded at about 10 a.m. Monday for a double-homicide at a Circle K gas station at Beechwood and Grant Line roads. There, they found two victims, later identified as Cherok Douglass' wife, Brandee Kay Douglass, 38, and Lorin M. Yelle, 48, of Louisville, Ky.
RELATED | New Albany double homicide suspect, victims named
ISP said Yelle had no connection to either Brandee or Cherok Douglass and was a customer at the gas station. She was shot as she was exiting the store.
Officers then saw a suspect, later identified as Cherok Douglass, fleeing in an SUV. They chased the suspect onto Charlestown Road, north of Interstate 265, where Douglass stopped at
a local restaurant and at gunpoint took a woman as a hostage.
He then forced the woman into the SUV. At one point, the woman fell from the vehicle, at which point he tried to run over officers. It was then officers opened fire, wounding him. He was transported with non-life-threatening injuries to a university hospital in Louisville.
Cherok Douglass was extradited from Kentucky on Wednesday, ISP said. An initial court appearance has not yet been scheduled on his behalf.
Autopsies for the victims are scheduled for next Monday.
-
After getting a taste of postseason success, the Pacers want to do even more
Tyrese Haliburton got his real taste of postseason success earlier this year. It’s only fueled his hunger to reach new heights — even if the doubters still exist.Appeals court reinstates Indiana lawsuit against TikTok
Those suits allege the app contains “salacious and inappropriate content” despite the company claiming it is safe for children 13 years and under.John Mellencamp statue coming to IU's Bloomington campus
The university announced it will dedicate a statue to Mellencamp on Oct. 18. The musician, who was born and raised 50 miles away in Seymour, is expected to attend the dedication ceremony.IMPD, neighbors concerned after 2 homicides occur at same rental property
For the second time in less than two months, Indianapolis police are looking into a homicide at the same address on the city's northeast side.