Newburgh woman pleads guilty to attempted murder after shooting at police last year

A Newburgh woman pleaded guilty to attempted murder Monday after police said she exchanged gunfire with law enforcement last year.

Diana E. Ellmers, 29, entered the plea in Vanderburgh Superior Court, the prosecutor's office stated in a news release. 

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The events leading to the shots-fired incident began the morning of Sept. 25, 2020, when a deputy responded to a report of a truck stalled on the Old Henderson Road railroad tracks, Sheriff Dave Wedding said during a news conference last year.

The deputy eventually discovered the truck had been stolen, and the two people on scene, one of which was Ellmers, reportedly fled into the river bottoms, police said.

Later that evening, a person called 911 to report two "suspicious people" walking along Old Henderson Road.

"Based on what happened earlier, we felt this could be our suspects in the stolen vehicle earlier in the day," Wedding said last year.

A deputy stopped the two, pulled his weapon and ordered them to get on the ground. That's when Ellmers reportedly pulled a handgun and fired multiple shots at the deputy before running behind a building near the Old Dogtown Tavern. 

Authorities from the Evansville Police Department and Indiana State Police eventually arrived on scene as well. As officers prepared to evacuate a nearby residence, they reportedly found Ellmers hiding in a trash bin. 

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She was ordered to drop her gun and surrender. But she did not, Wedding said. Authorities fired and wounded her, and she was taken to the hospital. No law enforcement officials were injured.

Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for Nov. 18.

Contact Jon Webb at jon.webb@courierpress.com