Girlfriend of shooter police say killed Pitts accepts plea deal

ICN file photo

By Lucy Perry
Indiana Central News

A  woman caught in the middle of the shooting deaths of Terre Haute Police Officer Rob Pitts and another murder victim, Robert "Paulie" Olson, confessed to lying to detectives last year during a plea agreement in her case today.

Lakrista J. Julian, now 20, was booked into the Vigo County Jail May 5, 2018. She was charged with Level 6 felony obstruction of justice just after Pitts died. Pitts was fatally shot from an upper level apartment unit while attempting to serve a warrant on the suspect, Christopher Wolfe, with other officers after the homicide investigation began for Olson's case. A subsequent standoff with the suspect -- also Julian's boyfriend --  ended with gunshots fired and a fatal round striking him dead,  as well.

Wolfe reportedly killed his roommate, Olson, in the home where they lived on S. 18th Street sometime before the fatal shootout with police occurred at the Garden Quarter apartment complex.
  
According to Vigo County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Roberts, Julian has admitted to lying after being taken into custody following the shooting deaths of Pitts and Wolfe at the Garden Quarter apartment complex, located just south of Terre Haute. She had told detectives at that time that she did not know if her slain boyfriend, Wolfe, owned or possessed a gun. 

Julian was facing six months to 2 and -a -half years in jail for obstruction of justice.

"She later admitted to knowing he owned the gun and seeing the bulge of a gun in his waistline that day," Roberts said. He added that a prior charge of assisting a criminal was dismissed due to insufficient evidence that Julian intentionally assisted the murder suspect in avoiding apprehension.

 A sentencing hearing was held after she pleaded guilty to the charge of obstruction of justice.

The State reportedly argued for a felony conviction with a sentence of two years, one year to be served on home detention and one year to be served on formal probation. 

The defense reportedly argued for a sentence of time served, with conviction being entered as a misdemeanor --  punishable by one year in jail.  

Members of both the Olson and Pitts families were present at the hearing. 

"After expressing his sympathies to both families and briefly discussing how the law impacts the decisions he must make, Judge John Roach took the sentence under advisement and set a sentencing hearing for Nov. 18 at 8:30 a.m.," Roberts states in the press release.

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