Jeffersonville man charged in double-murder

JEFFERSONVILLE — A Jeffersonville man was charged Friday morning for the murders of Larry Morrow and Shannon Howard-Morrow.

Ryan Maurice Sheckles, 23, of the 500 block of Main Street in Jeffersonville, was served a warrant while being held in the Clark County Jail on drug and weapons charges.

Larry “Pucka” Morrow, 38, and Shannon Morrow, 30, were gunned down with a .40-caliber semi-automatic handgun on the 200 block of Walnut Street on Aug. 25. They were standing outside a house owned by a relative.

Larry Morrow was pronounced dead at the scene. Shannon Morrow was hospitalized and underwent several surgeries but died Sept. 9 from multiple gunshot wounds to the upper torso.

Sheckles appeared in Clark County Circuit Court on Friday afternoon for an initial hearing. Judge Dan Moore ordered him to remain in jail without bond and appointed the public defender’s office to represent him.

The families of the victims gathered outside of the courtroom on an emotional day.

“It’s finally a big relief for our family. We’ve been in limbo,” said Cathie Kemp, Shannon’s mother.

Cheryl Morrow, Larry’s mother, said they have been living day-by-day trying to make it through the grief. She said they knew for a while that Sheckles was the suspect and want the harshest sentence possible.

“I’d rather see him dead just like my son,” she said.

Jeffersonville Police Department Detective Todd Hollis said Sheckles has been a suspect since soon after the shootings.

“It was a name we had early on in the investigation,” Hollis said. “However, we didn’t have sufficient evidence early on in the investigation.”

Hollis said they have tried to interview Sheckles numerous times, but he has refused to speak to detectives.

“This investigation has been ongoing for almost a year, since right after the shootings,” Clark County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Jeremy Mull said. “We now have enough evidence we feel confident filing charges.”

According to a probable-cause affidavit, at the scene of the shooting, Shannon Morrow told police that her husband had been in an argument with someone in a newer-model black truck occupied by two males and a female. She said one of the men got out of the truck and shot her husband and then her.

Phone records revealed several phone calls made between the Morrows and Sheckles. Other phone calls were made to 25-year-old Robert “Harry” Sheckles, Ryan’s cousin, who was also allegedly in the vehicle at the time of the shooting.

Police were only able to obtain limited information from Shannon Morrow because she was unable to speak after the shooting. At the hospital, she did write down the word “shelly” and when asked if she meant Sheckles, she shook her head yes.

A woman named Laisha Smith was driving the vehicle. Prosecutors do not expect to file charges against her.

Mull said Robert Sheckles will be charged, but depending partially on his cooperation, what those charges will be has not been decided.

Mike Kemp, Shannon Morrow’s stepfather, believes all three should be brought to justice for their involvement.

“I’d rather have the death penalty on every one of them. They took people and put them in the ground,” Kemp said.

However, Smith and Robert Sheckles may be used to testify against Ryan Sheckles.

According to a probable-cause affidavit, prosecutors also have telephone recording between Smith and Robert Sheckles from when he was incarcerated. Sheckles appeared to be upset with her for telling people about “me and cuz.” Smith said she hadn’t said anything, and Robert replied, “the girl said you was the driver.”

Smith then asked why he was saying things on the phone and said she had never even mentioned “B.A.’s name.” Ryan Sheckles is known as B.A., short for “Bad Ass.”

On July 1, Smith agreed to an interview with police. She said she remembered Ryan Sheckles receiving multiple calls from someone wanting to buy drugs. She said they drove to Walnut Street, and Ryan Sheckles got into an argument with a man who grabbed the narcotics out of his hands. At that point, she said Sheckles fired several shots.

The three suspects then fled across the Clark Memorial Bridge into Louisville.

Robert Sheckles was interviewed by police Monday and said he witnessed his cousin shoot and kill Larry Morrow. He said he later told him “he had to take both of them out.”

“We’re very happy to have Mr. Sheckles charged and in jail. We believe he is a dangerous person and having him in custody makes everybody safer,” Hollis said. “When you look at the facts of what happened there, he shot two people in the street.

“We hope it’s a relief for the victim’s family and they’re a little bit closer to closure now.”

Hollis said Ryan Sheckles is known by police for his involvement in drug dealing.

He was arrested July 2 for class A felony possession of cocaine, class C felony carrying a handgun without a license, class D felony resisting law enforcement and class D felony receiving stolen property and with being a habitual offender.

He pleaded guilty in 2008 to possession of cocaine. He was charged with attempted murder in 2004 but pleaded to a lesser charge of class C felony possession of a machine gun.

Robert Sheckles also has a long criminal record. He pleaded guilty in Floyd County July 1 to dealing cocaine and was sentenced to 12 years in prison followed by six years of probation.

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Morrows gunned down on Walnut Street in Jeffersonville last year; victims' families say they feel relief with charges

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