William J. Gajdik leaves the courtroom after being assigned a $5 million bond Tuesday. Mike Perleberg-Eagle 99.3

Update posted at 10:48 a.m.:

William Gajdik has received one of the highest bonds ever assigned in Dearborn County.

Gajdik, 38, appeared in Dearborn Circuit Court Tuesday morning wearing a white and black striped jail jumper. It was his initial hearing on charges of Attempted Murder (Class A felony), Burglary (Class A felony), Robbery Causing Serious Bodily Injury (Class A felony), a second count of Burglary (Class B felony), Robbery with a Deadly Weapon (Class B felony), and Auto Theft (Class D felony).

Prosecutor Aaron Negangard asked Judge James Humphrey to assign a high bond for Gajdik for a number of reasons: Gajdik’s status as a fugitive from Nebraska after he escaped from a prison there in July, two prior convictions for escape in 2003 and 2004, and because he has no personal ties to Dearborn County or the southeast Indiana area.

Humphrey accepted Negangard’s arguments, assigning a bond of $5 million surety and $100,000 cash.

Negangard told Eagle 99.3 afterwards that he believes the bond amount is one of the highest ever assigned in Dearborn County.

Gajdik was ordered not to have contact with either of the two homeowners who were victims in Gajdik’s alleged September 6 burglary of two homes in Bright and Logan Township. He is accused of shooting of one of the two homeowners and stealing his car.

Gajdik stole another car from an auto dealer in Bettendorf, Iowa. He was arrested last Tuesday in Fergus Falls, Minnesota where detectives tracked him using data from pawn shops as Gajdik traded in items investigators say may have been stolen.

“He’s been on a crime spree across the country,” Negangard said.

Humphrey will assign Gajdik a public defender. A pretrial hearing was scheduled for November 28.

Original story posted at 9:35 a.m.:

(Lawrenceburg, Ind.) – A man suspected in a shooting and two burglaries is in Dearborn County to face the charges.

Williams Gajdik was booked into the Dearborn County Law Enforcement Center on Friday evening. He is scheduled to make his initial appearance in Dearborn Circuit Court at 9:45 a.m. Tuesday to answer to charges of Attempted Murder (Class A felony), Burglary (Class A felony), Robbery Causing Serious Bodily Injury (Class A felony), a second count of Burglary (Class B felony), Robbery with a Deadly Weapon (Class B felony), and Auto Theft (Class D felony).

Gajdik, 38, was arrested last Tuesday evening in Fergus Falls, Minnesota after Dearborn County Special Crimes Unit detectives tracked his movement using pawn shop data. The detectives contacted local police there found Gajdik staying in a motel where he had checked in using his real name.

Gajdik, who escaped from a low security prison in Nebraska on July 29, is believed to be responsible for burglarizing a home on North Dearborn Road in Bright on September 6. He allegedly showed a gun and ran from the home after being confronted by the homeowner.

A manhunt ensued in the area that day, with a man being shot after arriving home at a residence on nearby Ruth Avenue in Logan Township. Gajdik took off in the victim’s Ford Thunderbird.

That vehicle was recovered in Bettendorf, Iowa, where Gajdik stole took a vehicle for a test drive from a car dealership and did not return. He had again used his real ID at the dealer before the test drive.

Gajdik may also face charges in Nebraska for the prison escape and in Iowa for stealing the second car from the dealership.

LINKS:

Shooting Suspect Caught In Minn.

Shooting Suspect Steals Car In Iowa