LPD video chronicles IHOP chase, shooting

LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WLFI) - Lafayette police have released more details about the night two men were killed by gunfire after a chase from an IHOP parking lot – and have officially determined it to be a murder-suicide.

Late last Thursday night, police were called to the Lafayette IHOP on State Road 26 in response to a man being held against his will. After a chase and exchanged shots, a pickup truck with two dead men inside was wedged into a home.

You can read all the initial details in our original story.

According to Lafayette police, a friend of 62-year-old Brook, Ind., man Joel Hershman called 911 that night and said Hershman was being held against his will at gunpoint in the IHOP parking lot by homeless man 46-year-old Steven Keith Moseley.

Dispatchers were told the two men were with a pickup truck.

Officers were dispatched to the restaurant, where they found a pool of blood and no vehicle. Investigators later determined one shot was fired by Moseley in the parking lot, which entered Hershman's right knee and traveled through his left ankle, hitting a major artery.

After more officers showed up and began searching for the pickup truck in question, the truck was spotted near businesses just off Park East Boulevard behind Walmart on State Road 26.

The truck was behind some businesses on Park East when Lafayette police officers Donna Gregorash and Adam Mellady spotted the truck. The truck turned out and headed west on Kettle Circle.

Gregorash and Mellady pulled their cars into a blocking formation without actually blocking the road, which requires official shift command permission to do.

The officers blinded Moseley with their spotlights and Moseley started shooting and driving at them. That’s when Gregorash fired off three shots toward the pickup.

One shot hit the windshield and wipers, one hit the door and one casing was never found, but police believe none of the bullets hit Moseley.

A Tippecanoe County Sheriff’s deputy was situated behind all this action when Moseley took off in the pickup, headed through the two LPD cars, fired shots at the officers and sped away. The deputy followed the pickup around to Kettle Circle.

The pursuit lasted roughly 30 seconds until Moseley stopped the truck in front of a house and fired a shot inside the cab. The car then accelerated into a home on Kettle Circle.

Police believe this last bit was Moseley committing suicide, going limp and hitting the accelerator.

Toxicology results are still pending for Moseley, who police say was reported to be intoxicated that night. Hershman was found dead in the pickup after he had bled out from the gunshot he sustained in the parking lot.

The Lafayette Police Department stands behind Officer Gregorash and her decision to fire her gun, even though she had a dispatcher with her on a ride-along.

"She (Gregorash) was in fear, she was in fear for Mellady, she was in fear for her rider. She took the appropriate action," explained Dave Payne, Deputy Chief of Police.

Officers Gregorash and Mellady have been through debriefing and are clear to come back to work.

Investigators are not sure of a motive behind this murder-suicide and say they may never know.