For the second time in less than two weeks, a Mishawaka police officer has shot a suspect in a domestic situation.
Around midnight New Year’s Eve, prosecutors say 55-year-old Stephen Sherwood broke into the home of his ex-girlfriend, Angela Verduin. Court records say Sherwood was angry that her boyfriend, Williams Aberegg, was at her home in the 200 block of Gernhart Avenue.
Sherwood entered the backdoor and confronted Aberegg in the kitchen, stabbing him. Aberegg then went to a bedroom to get his own knife. Verduin called 911, and then Sherwood came after her as she held her two-month-old grandson. She refused his demand to put the baby down as he held a knife to her throat.
Then a Mishawaka police officer came to the door and saw Sherwood with the knife as Verduin screamed for help, and Sherwood shut the door. The officer then shot him through the closed door.
Prosecutors say Sherwood is recovering in the hospital. His charges include attempted murder and battery with a deadly weapon. He was on parole from a murder conviction in a 1995 case where he beat his girlfriend’s 4-year-old daughter to death while babysitting her in a Martinsville motel.
This incident came 10 days after a Mishawaka officer shot 53-year-old Chad Bean after a 10-hour hostage situation. Bean, who also was on parole, had been angry that his ex-girlfriend wouldn’t take him back. Like Sherwood, he will be jailed after his hospital release.
Prosecutors are reviewing the officers’ actions in both cases.
