Indy Radio: Charges Dropped Related To Ron Sexton Shooting

The charges related to the December 2022 attempted murder of late radio host and comedian Ronald Sexton, better known as Donnie Baker on the Bob and Tom Show, have officially been dismissed after Sexton’s unrelated death in July.

According to Fox 59 citing court documents, filed earlier this month in Marion County, the prosecutors previously asked to dismiss the charges against Paul Berkemeier in relation to the December 2022 incident. Berkemeier was charged with one count of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony, and one count of carrying a handgun without a license, a Level 5 felony.

Court records said that the two charges were officially dismissed on Monday and Berkemeier’s jury trial has been canceled.

Ron Sexton

According to previous reports, Sexton was reportedly shot at by Berkemeier in December 2022 when Sexton was in Indianapolis to meet with Berkemeier’s wife in a reported affair. Court documents stated that a vehicle drove up next to Sexton’s vehicle and “opened fire at (Sexton’s) car.” Officials said that Sexton was not hit by any of the bullets and he was alone in the vehicle at the time.

In July, officers with the Hamilton Police Department in Ohio confirmed that 52-year-old Sexton died at a hotel in an unrelated incident. In a statement given to FOX59/CBS4 at the time, the department said that the Sexton’s cause and manner of death are still pending and they do not expect to have that information until the end of August or beginning of September.

In support of the motion to dismiss Berkemeier’s charges, the court documents said there are no other witnesses of the shooting known to law enforcement and there is no known video of the shooting itself.

“Mr. Sexton’s statements were the foundation upon which the State filed charges,” the documents read. “Mr. Sexton’s testimony is essential to the State’s case… An extensive police investigation was conducted. However, there remains elements of the charged offenses that can only be proved through the testimony of Ronald Sexton. Specifically, the State cannot prove the identity of the shooter through any other means.”

In a statement provided to FOX59/CBS4 by Tracey Sexton, Ronald Sexton’s wife of 29 years and the mother of his four children, she said that they are “extremely disappointed” in the decision to drop the charges.