Bermann
Questions about a Greenwood woman’s ability to stand trial for attempted murder have delayed her case.
Linda Bermann, 35, is charged with attempted murder. Last May, two juveniles told police she tried to shoot one of them with a rifle. Bermann was initially arrested on a low-level felony charge of pointing a firearm. The charges were upgraded to attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, after further investigation by the Greenwood Police Department.
After the charges were filed, Bermann’s defense attorney requested she be evaluated for competency to stand trial due to a history of mental health issues. She also has a history of alcohol abuse and spent time in rehab last year in Oklahoma following an incident in which she tried to stab a juvenile with a pair of scissors, according to court documents.
During a pre-trial competency hearing Monday, the defense told Johnson County Circuit Court Judge Andrew Roesener that competency exams had been completed. The results of the exams made it clear there were some issues present, Ginny Maxwell, Bermann’s attorney, told the judge.
The Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office had received the reports, but wanted more time to review them, Prosecutor Joe Villanueva said.
Maxwell said she believed the defense and prosecution are going to come to some sort of agreement regarding the case, and the defense does not intend to have a jury trial. Both Maxwell and Villanueva declined to comment on a potential plea agreement.
The court moved to push back the trial to June, with another pre-trial hearing scheduled for May. Bermann’s bond, which was set at $40,000, remains in place, Roesener said.
The charge stems from an incident on May 3, 2021, when Greenwood police responded to the 1700 block of Blue Grass Parkway after the two juveniles said she tried to shoot them with an assault rifle. The victim told police he was playing video games in a room upstairs when Bermann burst into the room, pointed the rifle at his head and pulled the trigger. The gun jammed and did not fire, according to the probable cause affidavit.
The victim pushed Bermann out of the room as she tried to unjam the gun, locked the door and called 911. Another juvenile who heard the commotion and saw Bermann point the gun at the victim also called 911, according to court documents.
When officers arrived, they demanded Bermann exit the house, which she did without incident. She later told police she put the gun down when she heard the sirens outside, court documents show.
Once detained, Bermann told police at the scene she wanted to kill herself, and she intended to point the gun at the victim. She later told police she wanted to kill herself and the two juveniles because a relative had upset her, and she wanted to make that relative feel guilty, according to court documents.
Police entered the house and went upstairs where they observed the rifle on the floor in the hallway in front of the room where the victim was. It had an indention on the primer of the round from what appeared to be a contact point of the firing pin, which indicates the bolt of the rifle was forward with the firing pin pressed against the primer of the cartridge as it was chambered. But it is not clear whether the trigger is required to be pulled for the firing pin to cause the mark. Police found 18 unfired bullets in the magazine, court documents show.
Police discovered a second unfired cartridge in the upstairs hallway, between Bermann’s bedroom and the room where the victim was. The primer on this cartridge had a similar mark. The nose of the bullet also had apparent scrape marks consistent with a cartridge that had been chambered, according to court documents.
Police found two firearms inside the house — the rifle and a pistol — both of which were secured and placed into evidence, court documents show.
Police filed a separate probable cause affidavit with the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office to initiate the red flag law process. Under the red flag law, also known as the Jake Laird Law in Indiana, police may seize guns from a person who is mentally unstable and a danger to themselves or others.
Bermann was a danger to both herself and others, police determined. They filed the documents to retain custody of the firearms and to make sure she cannot purchase others if she is released from jail on bond.
Roesener upheld confiscation of the firearms at a hearing last year. Both Bermann’s defense team and the prosecution agreed the confiscation was justified, court documents show.
Bermann was also evaluated at IU Health Methodist Hospital before being detained at the Johnson County jail, where she remains today.
