Split decision in attorney attack case

LAFAYETTE, Ind (WLFI) - Jurors reach a split decision after six hours in the case of Russell Timmons. The 51-year old Lafayette man was accused of trying to push an attorney over a railing around the Tippecanoe County Courthouse rotunda. The Superior Court One jury found Timmons guilty of confinement resulting in bodily injury, but the panel decided Timmons is innocent of attempted murder and criminal battery.

During the week-long trial, jurors watched security video that shows him going after Fort Wayne attorney Linda Polley. Defense attorney Kent Moore argued Timmons was in an altered state of mind after a hearing about an insurance dispute. Polley represented the insurance company Timmons was taking to court in a dispute over $4,000.  Deputy Prosecutor Laura Zeman contends Timmons intentionally singled out Polley after the hearing in June of 2007.  Zeman said it can be difficult to convince jurors of intent to murder when the act is not completed.

"They concluded that they could not decide and could not be convinced beyond a reasonable doubt what his exact intent was. Hence, they would have to find him not guilty on those charges," she said.

Timmons remains free on bond. A sentencing date will be the first week of August. He faces a range of two to eight years in prison.