(La Porte County, IN) - The shooter in Friday night’s attack on a police officer in rural La Porte County has been identified.
According to County Coroner Lynn Swanson, the assailant was 22-year-old Jonathan J. Ybarra, who was last known to reside in Warsaw. Ybarra sustained a single gunshot wound to the head, Swanson said.
On Friday afternoon Ybarra and 20-year-old Erica D. Bowman of Elkhart were walking along County Road 125 East just south of 900 North, when a concerned citizen notified authorities. While an Indiana state trooper was checking their identities, Ybarra reportedly pulled out a gun and opened fire. The officer, who was seated in his patrol car, was not injured and drove away. An hours-long manhunt ensued. Bowman surrendered to authorities after emerging from a nearby wooded area. At about 7:40 pm, Ybarra’s body was found by an Indiana State Police SWAT team in the basement of a residence in the 8300 North block of 125 East.
Bowman is in La Porte County Jail, currently facing a charge of possessing drug paraphernalia, with other charges possibly forthcoming. An autopsy on Ybarra is pending, Swanson said. The investigation remains ongoing, and additional information will be released as it becomes available.
