SOUTH BEND — Mishawaka family physician Glenn Wheet has been found guilty of felony criminal recklessness for driving through a crowd of protesters at a racial injustice demonstration in downtown Mishawaka on July 4, 2020.

The verdict marks the end of a three-day trial where jurors weighed whether Wheet was justified in driving through protesters during the rally.

Prosecutors argued Wheet caused a substantial risk of injury by knowingly driving over a set of traffic cones and into the crowd, albeit at a slow speed. During testimony, Wheet maintained he was “under attack” by protesters who “swarmed” his car as he drove over a line of cones. He also said that he didn’t realize the cones were there until he ran over them.

When explaining his version of events to police at the scene, Wheet said in a police body camera video shown in court, “They had the road completely blocked by people. I rolled up to tell them I had a rightful right to use this road. Before I could say anything, they were pounding on my windshield.”

However, the six-person jury found Wheet guilty after deliberating for three hours.

Wheet could face jail time and could potentially lose his medical license, though Indiana law allows certain low-level felony convictions to be treated as misdemeanors, so it is unclear whether he will spend any time in jail.

His sentencing is April 13.

During their deliberations, the jury had access to multiple videos that showed the incident from the point of view of protesters on the bridge and from city traffic cameras.

The videos, which were played in court as evidence, show demonstrators shouting and rushing toward a silver Chevy Traverse that drives over a traffic cone and into the crowd. Some people in the crowd begin hitting the car, while others are standing in front of it or pushing back on it. As the car clears through the crowd, it accelerates up Main Street, dragging along Trevor Davis, who testified that he was hanging onto the car’s side mirror.

Kristen Kocsis, the deputy prosecutor who tried the case, said the video evidence proved to be a key element in the jury’s decision.

“They took a few hours with this, so I think they went over the videos and each part of the video, which is kind of a crucial part of this case,” Kocsis said.

Wheet, and his attorney Jeff Kimmell, did not speak to reporters after the trial. An email sent to Kimmell seeking comment was not immediately returned. Wheet showed no visible reaction as St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha read the jury’s guilty verdict Thursday afternoon.

This article was made available through Hoosier State Press Association.