Cedar Lake, Indiana

From the Merrillville Post-Tribune of March 2, 2007

Cedar Lake homicide case closed
Next stop: Grand Jury

The investigation is closed on Ronald Thomas's shooting death, which stunned Cedar Lake Jan. 31.

Charges will not be filed against Gerald Burkland, the man who pulled the trigger, although the case will be sent to a grand jury.

"I'll accept it as the way the judicial system works," Burkland said at his home. "That's fine with me."

He declined to comment further.

Cedar Lake Police Chief Roger Patz said charges have not been filed because he believes Burkland killed Thomas in self-defense. Patz said the decision not to file charges was made after consultation with the Lake County Prosecutor's Office.

Patz said Thomas broke into Burkland's residence before 8 a.m. Jan. 31 after he pried open a screen. Burkland was inside the residence, as was Susie Buck, Thomas' girlfriend and mother of their two children.

Burkland told police the two men started arguing, then Thomas lunged at him with a knife. Burkland maintains he fired at Thomas in self-defense.

The blast struck Thomas at close range, piercing his abdomen, Patz said. Thomas was pronounced dead later that morning at St. Anthony Medical Center in Crown Point.

Burkland fled the scene. He was found in a Merrillville hotel four days later, and Cedar Lake detectives interviewed him the following day.

After Thom-as was shot, Buck stayed behind and called 911. She could not be reached for comment.

Patz said they suspected self-defense all along, observing the pried-open window and a knife in close proximity to Thomas' body when they arrived at the crime scene. Evidence from the Lake County Crime Lab confirmed their beliefs, he said.

Nevertheless, Patz says, because the case is so serious, it's only appropriate it be referred to a grand jury.

"We don't want to leave any stone unturned here," Patz said.

Diane Poulton, spokeswoman for the Lake County Prosecutor's Office, said the jury, comprised of six people, will determine whether to indict Burkland. No date has been set for the grand jury to deliberate this case, Poulton said.

Marco Manzie, Thomas' uncle, said the decision to present the issue to a grand jury "doesn't sound right."

"We're hoping we'll get down to the truth," Manzie said. "We're uncomfortable that the police are taking Jerry Burkland's side of the story."