LAPORTE | A prosecutor from outside LaPorte County will decide whether the shooting of Jennifer Evans, who was elected as a judge in November, was a crime.

LaPorte County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Atley Price filed a petition Monday morning in LaPorte Superior Court 1 requesting a special prosecutor to review evidence in the case.

Judge Kathleen Lang granted the petition and asked the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office be appointed to review the case.

Evans, 34, has been a LaPorte County deputy prosecutor for about a decade. She is due to take over as judge in LaPorte Superior Court 3 on Thursday.

LaPorte County Prosecutor Rob Beckman said an independent review will ensure public trust in the investigation.

"We wished to avoid even the appearance of impropriety," Beckman said.

Evans was taken by ambulance Dec. 22 from her home on Victoria Circle in LaPorte after a gunshot grazed her head. A full recovery is expected.

Beckman would not comment on a published report last week that quoted Evan's husband, Stephen Koethe, as saying Evans didn't know the gun was loaded while she was handling it.

Beckman last week said there were no obvious factors to indicate whether the shooting was a crime or an accident.

He said any further comment about the case would have to come from police or the St. Joseph County prosecutor's office, which will render an official ruling in the case following a thorough review.

LaPorte Police Chief of Detectives Clyde Crass said he also would not respond to Koethe's claims of how the shooting occurred as reported by the media.

He said no determinations have been made, and the case remains under investigation.

"We're trying to do the best we can as far as investigating it based on the facts," Crass said.