On the evening of Saturday, April 3, 1999, 26-year-old Indiana State Trooper Cory Elson was on patrol in Decatur when he stopped a pickup in the parking lot of an auto parts store on North 13th Street for a non-working taillight. As he exited his patrol car the driver, 38-year-old Mark L. Lichtenberger, began firing an AK-47. A bullet passed through the cruiser door and struck Elson in the leg. Elson returned fire from the rear of his vehicle but was fatally wounded; an employee at the store was also hit and wounded and called 911. Lichtenberger fled but was captured the following day; he reportedly had told people he was tired of being pulled over and intended to seek revenge.

In July 2000 Lichtenberger was found guilty of murder and, under a plea agreement to avoid the death penalty, was sentenced to life without parole plus 20 years for using a machine gun. Elson, who had been with the Fort Wayne post for just under four months after recently graduating from the academy, left behind a wife, sister, and parents. He was the second of three troopers from the 56th ISP Recruit Academy killed in the line of duty within an eleven-month span.

If anyone knew Trooper Elson or has information about his case, please share what is known.