Michael J. “Billy Goat” Karnuth, 35, of North Vernon, was sentenced to 120 years for his role in a biker gang shootout that killed a Kentucky man.
NORTH VERNON — A North Vernon man sentenced to 120 years in prison for a murder conviction stemming from his involvement in a 2021 shootout in Dupont must serve his sentence after the Indiana Supreme Court last month declined to consider his appeal, letting the judgment stand.
Michael J. “Billy Goat” Karnuth, 35, led a criminal biker gang, authorities said, at the time of the June 22, 2021 killing of Dustin B. Lindner, 35, of Georgetown, Kentucky. Authorities said Lindner was a member of the Pagans Motorcycle Club who was fatally shot while he accompanied Karnuth, president of the Heavy Hitters chapter of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, and others who had planned to attack another motorcycle club member.
After a trial, a jury in Jefferson Circuit Court in Madison convicted Karnuth of murder, attempted burglary committed while armed with a deadly weapon, attempted robbery committed while armed with a deadly weapon, and obstruction of justice. Judge Donald J. Mote sentenced Karnuth to 60 years on the murder charge enhanced by another 60 years because the jury also determined Karnuth was a member of a criminal organization whose crimes furthered the interests of the organization.
The jury convicted Karnuth after the judge provided an instruction on the law regarding accomplice liability under Indiana’s felony murder statute. That law provides that a person may be charged and convicted of murder if someone is killed in the act of committing or attempting to commit a number of felonies — including burglary.
Among other things, Karnuth challenged that jury instruction and argued on appeal that the evidence was insufficient to support his murder conviction or the enhancement for the criminal organization element of his sentence. He also argued his sentence was inappropriate in light of his character or the nature of the crimes.
A three-judge panel of the Indiana Court of Appeals rejected Karnuth’s arguments and upheld his sentence in March, after which he petitioned the state Supreme Court to review his case.
The justices in a 4-1 decision on June 19 declined to accept Karnuth’s appeal, with Chief Justice Loretta Rush casting the lone vote to hear the case.
According to evidence presented at trial, trouble started when Karnuth talked with another man, Shawn Rudis, outside a gas station in North Vernon. Rudis showed Karnuth his tattoos associated with the Warlocks, “and was, by his own admission, antagonistic toward Billy Goat,” acccording to the probable cause affidavit filed in court by Indiana State Police.
After this confrontation, in which other local gang members became involved, Karnuth “spent weeks gathering information on Rudis’ whereabouts and organizing the pursuit of Rudis,” according to evidence presented at trial. When Rudis had been located, Karnuth and three other gang members, including Lindner, met at Karnuth’s residence at Country Squire Lakes in the 2100 block of Country Manor Street in North Vernon.
Believing Rudis wasn’t a club member, investigators said one of the people who met at Karnuth’s residence told them that Lindner persuaded the group to “go down there, beat the (expletive) out of (Rudis), take his (expletive), and leave.”
This person also told investigators that when he asked Karnuth why the group needed to take guns, Karnuth replied, “he was prepared to shoot back, if needed,” the affidavit said. The group also planned to ensure that Rudis’ tattoos associated with the Warlocks and Pagans motorcycle clubs “were removed,” the affidavit says.
Subsequently, a group of five biker gang members arrived at Rudis’ residence on John Deere Road in Dupont, about 10 miles south of North Vernon, around midnight June 22, 2021.
Investigators said those who arrived on the scene walked the property looking for Rudis, who was waiting with a rifle inside a shed.
“Rudis remained in the shed, and saw a shadow begin to open a tarp that was covering the entrance of the shed. Rudis stated that he then fired a shot towards the shadow and that he heard a groan,” the affidavit said. “He stated that he didn’t hear anything else for what he believed to be a couple of minutes, and then multiple shots were fired into the shed.
“Rudis stated that he then called 911. While he was on the phone with 911, Rudis stated that he fired an additional shot,” which hit one of the gang member’s vehicles, the affidavit said. Rudis “started screaming at them and … after a while the vehicles left.”
When authorities arrived, they found Lindner on the property, fatally shot.
Authorities soon executed a search warrant on Karnuth’s residence that turned up evidence connected to firearms that had been ditched after the shootout, as well as Warlocks Motorcycle Club evidence, including clothing and business cards. State Police investigators also found Lindner’s vehicle at Karnuth’s residence and evidence of firearms that had been ditched in nearby waters.
According to the Indiana Department of Correction, Karnuth is imprisoned in the Wabash Valley Correctional Facility in Carlisle. His earliest possible projected release date is in the year 2111.
