David James Artley, a 43-year-old male, passed away on August 23, 2020, in his hometown of Elkhart, Indiana. Born on March 17, 1977, he was a saw operator for Forest River and had previously worked at Heartland RV. He was a family man, married to Stephanie Tiemann, and was a father to three children, Collin Michael Tiemann, Noah Clayton Stewart, and Ariel Louise Artley.
His life was cut short following a violent encounter at a local establishment.
On that fateful August night, a dispute inside Hardy's Bar escalated into a tragic shooting. The altercation resulted in Artley being fatally wounded and a woman sustaining injuries. The man responsible for the shooting was identified as Jordan Norton. During the ensuing legal proceedings, Norton claimed that he acted in self-defense.
The initial trial in June of the following year saw the jury divided on the murder charge, resulting in a hung jury. However, they did find Norton guilty of battery with a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness for the injuries inflicted upon the woman. A retrial for the murder charge was scheduled. In the subsequent trial, a new jury convicted Norton of the murder of David Artley. The court heard that Norton fired his weapon seven times in the crowded bar, with five of those shots striking Artley, even after he had already fallen to the ground. Norton's self-defense claim, which was based on a pre-existing medical condition, was ultimately not accepted by the court.
Following his conviction, Jordan Norton was sentenced to 75 years in prison for the murder of David Artley, in addition to the time he received for the other charges. An appeal was later filed by Norton, challenging the jury instructions on self-defense, but the appellate court upheld his convictions and sentence.
