A northwest Indiana prosecutor has notified the court he plans to seek the death penalty for a man charged with murder in the shooting death of a Gary police officer.
The Times of Munster and the Post-Tribune of Merrillville report an amended information was filed Tuesday against 26-year-old Carl Blountof Gary, adding a death sentence request in the death of 47-year-old Patrolman Jeffrey Westerfield, who was fatally shot while on-duty on his birthday.
Court records show Blount is scheduled to appear in Lake County Court on Wednesday. He previously was charged with murder and pleaded not guilty. He is being held Lake County Jail without bail.
Westerfield was shot while sitting in his patrol car early on July 6 while searching for Blount. A citizen discovered him unresponsive in a parked squad car hours later.
Court records state he was shot at close range with a handgun stolen in Indianapolis.
Westerfield was a 19-year veteran of the police force with four daughters and a fiancée. He planned to retire next August, family members said.
