In a troubling incident, an Indiana man, Jay Messer, aged 50, faces a litany of charges following allegations that he drove while intoxicated and threatened to kill a couple on the road. The serious charges against Messer include three counts of unlawful possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, intimidation, pointing a firearm at another person, operating a vehicle under the influence, and two counts of possession of a controlled substance.

Messer’s actions landed him in the Hancock County Jail, where he remains on a $200,000 cash bond, as indicated by court documents accessed by Law&Crime. The incident unfolded on Christmas Day, December 25, 2025, when a couple found themselves behind Messer’s black Jeep Grand Cherokee on 79th Street in Indianapolis. According to reports from WXIN and WTTV, the Jeep lingered at a stop sign, causing the couple to navigate around it and continue their journey eastward into Hancock County, a suburb of the city.

This maneuver apparently enraged Messer, who allegedly responded by shouting at the couple and subsequently tailing them in a reckless manner, swerving his vehicle as he pursued them. The situation escalated when the couple reached another stop sign, where Messer is said to have pulled up behind them, brandishing a gun, and threatening them with lethal harm, shouting, “I will f—ing kill you.”

The man in the Jeep — later identified as Messer — apparently did not like this action, as he yelled at the couple as they drove off. He allegedly took such issue with their maneuver that he began following them — “swerving” his vehicle in pursuit.

Eventually, the couple had to come to a stop at a different stop sign, and Messer reportedly pulled up behind them, pointed a gun, and yelled out the window, “I will f—ing kill you.”

The man and woman drove away — not before the wife took a picture of Messer’s license plate — and they are believed to have left the suspect behind. But he continued driving in a reckless manner, as authorities tell it.

At about 2 p.m., someone called 911 to report a disturbance inside a black Jeep Grand Cherokee in McCordsville Sports Park, about a 20-mile drive east of 79th Street in Indianapolis. The SUV pulled onto State Road 67 and proceeded to swerve in and out of lanes, police said.

Officers pulled the vehicle over, and Messer allegedly stepped out — though he “had trouble standing up,” the court documents added. There was more: He had “urinated in his pants,” according to authorities.

Police searched Messer and reportedly found ammo for a Winchester .380, an envelope with a “large amount” of cash, and “various” drugs inside four pill containers, including Alprazolam — otherwise known as Xanax — and Clonazepam, another central nervous system depressant.

Law enforcement asked the suspect whether he had been drinking, to which he confessed he had “a little alcohol” while he was on “many medications,” the local TV stations reported. When given a breath test, he allegedly blew 0.250, more than three times the legal limit.

Furthermore, Messer is said to have had three guns inside his Jeep: a Glock 42, a loaded MP Smith & Wesson, and a Ruger .380. Officers also allegedly found a “blue bag containing what appeared to be cremated human remains.” Authorities later heard from the woman in the car with her husband and tied the two situations together.

The suspect was detained, and after being taken to an area hospital, he was booked into the Hancock County Jail. Court records show he has a pretrial conference in his case set for March 5.