VALPARAISO | A jury deliberated just a half hour Wednesday afternoon before returning to find Steven Andrus not guilty of a drive-by shooting while serving as a Gary police officer.

Andrus, who has reportedly resigned from the Police Department, was cleared of two felony counts of criminal recklessness.

Melissa Bachani, an Indana State Police weapons examiner, testified Wednesday that shell casings found at the scene of the March 18, 2008, shooting on Cooley Street in Portage were determined to be from Andrus' police weapon.

But defense attorney Larry Rogers argued the last couple days that there was no evidence that Andrus pulled the trigger of his handgun or was even at the scene.

Portage police did not request either fingerprint or DNA tests to be done on the shell casings, Bachani said.

When questioned on this latter point by Chief Deputy Prosecutor Matt Frost, Bachani said the act of firing a weapon typically destroys any fingerprint or DNA evidence on shell casings.

According to court documents, a resident of Cooley Street was at Cagne's Bar in Hobart, where he, his brother and stepbrother were confronted by another group of men. A fight broke out, then the three men left.

About 45 minutes later, the Cooley Street resident told police his wife received three phone calls asking for someone who did not live at the home. During the third call, the resident saw a truck drive slowly past his house. Thinking the people in the truck had something to do with the incident at the bar, he got a pipe and began to follow the truck, according to court documents. He heard several "caplike" sounds.

Police recovered bullets from the exterior of the victim's house and another nearby house.