Vic Ryckaert and Andrew Wolfson

USA TODAY NETWORK

INDIANAPOLIS – Two judges were shot early Wednesday morning in the parking lot of a White Castle in downtown Indianapolis after an argument with strangers, police said.

Clark County, Indiana, Circuit Judges Brad Jacobs and Drew Adams were in Indianapolis to attend a judicial conference, and Indianapolis police said there was no evidence they were targeted because they are judges.

Jacobs was in critical condition and Adams in stable condition at Indianapolis hospitals, according to Kathryn Dolan, a spokeswoman for the Indiana Supreme Court.

Indianapolis Police Officer Genae Cook initially told a reporter for The Indianapolis Star that an argument at the Red Garter Gentleman's Club spilled into the restaurant parking lot and that the judges were shot there about 3:30 a.m.

But Deputy Chief Christopher L. Bailey later said the two judges never set foot inside the Red Garter and that the report was based on incorrect information received from investigators.

Police put out a more detailed account late Wednesday afternoon. It said the judges and other people who were not identified visited several downtown bars early in the morning and tried to get into one next to the White Castle – presumably the Red Garter – but found it was closed.

Then they went to the White Castle, which is about half a mile from the state Capitol. The judges were standing outside the restaurant when a car pulled into the lot and the people inside got out, police said.

Words were exchanged between the groups, a fight ensued and the two victims were shot before the shooter fled in the vehicle, police said.

The statement said police were not releasing information about the suspect or suspects, although police said they didn't know the victims.

Clark County Presiding Judge Vicki Carmichael said in a statement through the Indiana Supreme Court that she had spoken with fellow judges who were with Adams and Jacobs and had been advised that “certain reports circulating about the event are inaccurate.” She did not identify the fellow judges and said she would not be making any additional statement.

Jacobs was at Indianapolis’ Eskenazi Hospital, spokesman Tom Surber said. Indianapolis police said the other victim was taken to IU Health Methodist Hospital, where he was able to talk to detectives.

Both Jacobs and Adams were first elected in 2014, and attorneys said they are well-liked and highly respected.

Attorney Logan Sims, who practices in Louisville and Southern Indiana, said, “I just left court and everyone is in shock. This is just terrible.”

Jacobs and Adams both started as public defenders, later worked as private criminal defense lawyers and succeeded longtime incumbents. Both are married and have three children, and both are Marine Corps veterans.

Jacobs, who is 46 and lives in Charlestown, handles a docket of mostly drug cases..

Jacobs' father told the News and Tribune in 2015 that “Brad’s real compassionate” and “doesn’t want to dislike anyone.”

In his first year on the bench, that newspaper reported that he lets as many people as possible stay out of jail and on their jobs while being monitored and tested.

“I don’t have a problem with a second chance if people have earned it," Jacobs told the paper.

Jacobs graduated from Indiana University Southeast and the University of Louisville’s law school.

Adams, 47, who also lives in Charlestown, defeated Judge Dan Moore in the primary to win the seat in a contentious race in which Adams said it’s “no hidden secret that Moore and I don’t get along.”

On his campaign Facebook page, he invited voters to “join the Adams family.”

He handles a docket that includes mostly violent felony cases, lawyers say.

Adams graduated from IU Southeast and IU’s McKinney School of Law.

Attorney Patrick Renn said both judges are extremely popular with both prosecutors and defense lawyers. “They give great respect and deference to attorneys and clients and both are well liked on both sides of the aisle.”

Vic Ryckaert reports for The Indianapolis Star. Andrew Wolfson reports for the Louisville Courier Journal.

Contributing: Darcy Costello, Billy Kobin and Matt Glowicki of the Courier Journal.