Laurel Five Murderer's Mother Faces Gun Charge

Wednesday, August 29, 2012 at 7:29 AM

David Ison was convicted earlier this year for what is likely the the worst killing spree in southeast Indiana history.

file photo

(Rushville, Ind.) - A federal grand jury has indicted the mother of David Ison – convicted murderer of the “Laurel Five” – on two felony gun charges.

Ison is serving five life sentences for murdering five people during a drug deal in Franklin County last September 25. Roy Napier, 50; his estranged wife Angela, 47; their two grown children Melissa Napier, 23, and Jacob Napier, 18; and family friend and neighbor Henry X. Smith, 43, shot and beaten to death by Ison outside a home on Stipps Hill Road on September 25, 2011, detectives said.

U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett has announced that Ison’s mother, Berlina “Blondie” Richardson, 64, bought her son a semi-automatic rifle and ammunition from Fields Outdoor Adventures in Rushville in July 2011. Ison, who was a convicted felon even before the murders, was not allowed by law to possess a firearm.

The indictment claims Richardson falsely informed Fields that she was to be the owner of the rifle. However, she was actually purchasing the gun for her son, who gave her the money, and gave it to him almost immediately afterwards.

The weapon in question is not believed to be that used in the Laurel Five murders, Hogsett said. When Indiana State Police arrested Ison as he was riding in a car on U.S. 52 in Andersonville three days after the murders, troopers said they did find an assault rifle in the vehicle.

If convicted, Richardson could be sentenced to ten years and a $250,000 fine on each of the two charges.

"Time after time, we have seen that the most terrible tragedies in our communities come from violent, repeat offenders who are able to illegally arm themselves," Hogsett said. "We are dedicated to finding and prosecuting those who aid and abet this cycle of lawlessness, protecting both Hoosier families and law-abiding gun owners across this state."

The indictment against Richardson comes as part of the U.S. Attorney’s Violent Crime Initiative, and is the result of collaborative investigative efforts by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the Indiana State Police.

Launched in March 2011, the VCI has produced a dramatic increase in the number of gun-related charges brought federally – from just 14 charges in 2010 to more than 110 last year. Already in 2012, 60 felons in possession of a firearm charges have been filed as part of the Violent Crime Initiative, putting the office on pace to meet or exceed last year’s total.

LINKS:

“Life Over Death”: Ison Receives Life In Prison

David Ison To Be Sentenced Wednesday

David Ison Pleads Guilty To “Laurel Five” Murders

Does Cost Factor Into Death Penalty Cases?

David Ison Won't Face Death Penalty

Murder Suspect Granted Change of Venue

Murder Suspect Wants Trial Moved

Ison Pleads Not Guilty To Franklin Co. Murders

Ison Charged With Five Murders

Laurel Five Laid To Rest

Services Set For Metamora Massacre Victims