Convicted child molester accused of shooting at stranger in Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. - A convicted child molester is accused of aggressively confronting a man who was walking on a Bloomington trail and firing a gun at the stranger.




Randy Francis, 44, is charged with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony; intimidation with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; attempt to commit battery with a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony; and criminal recklessness with a firearm, a Level 5 felony.

According to court documents, the victim was walking near the B-Line Trail near South Camden Drive in the early hours of Aug. 14 when he came across Francis and another person sitting on a bench.




Francis allegedly got aggressive with the victim, asking him to look at his laser light. The victim said he kept walking, but accused Francis of pulling a gun out of a backpack and firing it off to the side.




The victim said he sped up and heard another shot behind him, telling police he swore this second shot was aimed at him as he heard a "whizzing sound" near his head.




Police arrived not long afterward and found both Francis and the second individual. Police spoke with the second individual, who admitted to owning the firearm but told police he had let Francis carry the weapon.




This person claimed to have not seen what happened but heard the gunshots. He told officers Francis had been arguing with the victim out of sight and came running back after the gunshots- handing the gun back over.




Francis is currently being held in Monroe County Jail. His attorney filed an order requesting that Francis be placed on monitored conditional release.




But Francis has a history of being in and out of jail, along with being a convicted child molester.




Court records show Francis pleaded guilty to child molestation in 2009 and was initially sentenced to 10 years in prison. Francis was on probation by 2014, but was arrested on a probation violation. He was released on his own recognizance a few months later.




One year later, Francis was again arrested after failing to appear at a court hearing. In 2016, Francis was put back into prison on a five-year sentence due to repeated violations of probation. IDOC prison records list Francis as being held until a projected release of July 2021.




Francis was arrested in 2022 for failing to register as a sex offender. Court records show Francis wasn't kept in custody, however, and was released with a summons to appear in court. This case is still ongoing.




In 2023, Francis was charged with resisting law enforcement with a vehicle, a Level 6 felony. He was booked into the Monroe County Jail in early April 2023 but released the following day on pretrial monitoring. This case is still ongoing.





via: https://fox59.com/news/indycrime/convicted-child-molester-accused-of-shooting-at-stranger-in-bloomington/