Robert Wells

A Dupont man accused of firing four shots at a fleeing vehicle Tuesday night appeared for his initial hearing in Jefferson County Circuit Court Friday afternoon to face four felony charges.



Robert Allen Walter High Wells, 27, Dupont, faces charges of attempted aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony; attempted battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; criminal recklessness, a Level 6 felony; and domestic battery, a Level 6 felony, and is scheduled for a pretrial hearing in May.



Due to the nature of the crimes and Wells’ criminal history — Jefferson County Prosecutor David Sutter said Wells has failed to appear in court at least three times in Kentucky and was currently on probation in Indiana for the same reason — Magistrate Nancy Jacobs ordered Wells held on a $100,000 cash bond and signed a no-contact order preventing Wells from having any contact with two victims in the case.



Wells is accused of engaging in an argument with his ex-girlfriend, Miranda Lauderbaugh, and her boyfriend, Justin Ledbetter, that led to shots being fired including three bullets that impacted the passenger side of Ledbetter’s pickup truck.



According to an affidavit prepared by Jefferson County Sheriff Deputy Ben Flint, Wells admitted to Flint and Chief Deputy Josh Taylor that he had gotten into a confrontation with Ledbetter the night of March 3 in Dupont over his ex-girlfriend, Lauderbaugh, who was now dating Ledbetter.



Lauderbaugh told officers the fight started as a verbal argument but escalated. She said she told Wells not to fight Ledbetter and Wells allegedly responded that he wouldn’t fight him, but “shoot him.”



Lauderbaugh told police Ledbetter then got in his truck, a black Chevrolet S-10, and as he was pulling away onto Main Street in Dupont, Wells pulled a .22 caliber handgun from his clothing and fired several shots. She said she did not see the shots, as she ran inside her home to get Wells’ 6-year-old daughter, but an investigation later recovered evidence of three bullet impact points on the passenger side of Ledbetter’s truck as well as four bullet casings on the ground where the shooting took place in the 6600 block of W. Main Street in Dupont, the affidavit said.



Lauderbaugh also told police Wells had assaulted her a few days before. She said she had gone with her husband, Anthony Lauderbaugh — who she said she no longer lives with or is in a relationship with — in his truck to get money and cigarettes. When she returned home, Wells confronted her for being with Anthony Lauderbaugh and threatened to punch her. Lauderbaugh said “OK,” at which point Wells punched her in the face and punched a makeup mirror she was holding, causing glass to shatter and cause lacerations to her face. Miranda Lauderbaugh’s face still showed signs of cuts and bruising to her eye at the time of her interview by police, according to the affidavit.



When police interviewed Robert Wells he alleged admitted firing the shots and that he had later road a bicycle to a railroad bridge between Middle Fork Road and John Deere Road where he threw a .22 caliber handgun into a creek below a railroad bridge. However, he said he could not provide exact times or dates since he was “under the influence of methamphetamine when the event transpired.”



Police issued a warrant for Wells’ arrest on Thursday and he was later arrested by Indiana State Police.