Vauhxx Booker

This is the first-time restorative justice has been used in a criminal case in Indiana.

Special prosecutor Sonia Leerkamp said Thursday evening that reports from some media outlets - saying charges stemming from the 2020 incident at Lake Monroe have been dropped - are inaccurate.

The agreement is similar to the one Vauhxx Booker entered in early December, which says if he completes the process, his battery and trespass charges also will be dropped.

IMPD officers responded to calls the morning of Sept. 5 about a disturbance at Downtown Olly’s and were met by Booker, who was complaining that Olly’s staff was intoxicated, being aggressive and yelling rude and racist comments at him.

During an August news conference, Booker said he would not continue the process because he could not agree to signing a confidentiality agreement and having the charges against his alleged attackers dropped.

The Monroe County Public Defender’s Office had filed a motion earlier in the week, saying Booker “may not meet the definition of indigency” needed for a public defender.

In a motion filed Friday in Monroe Circuit Court, the Monroe County Public Defender’s Office said Booker “may not meet the definition of indigency” needed for a public defender, since a GoFundMe has collected over $35,000 for him.

Booker appeared virtually for an initial hearing Monday morning before Johnson County Superior Court Judge Lance Hamner.

Attorneys for Sean Purdy and Jerry Cox had filed motions to subpoena Booker and his attorney, Kitty Liell, to testify as to why and how the restorative justice talks between the two parties fell apart.

Vauhxx Booker was arrested in Indianapolis over the weekend for allegedly shoving a police officer after an encounter at a downtown bar and grill.