Man riding tractor uses shotgun to blow head off Buddhist neighbor sitting next to his dog in petty dispute over location of mailbox

A man in Indiana was sentenced to 60 years in prison for shooting his 70-year-old neighbor in the head with a 12-gauge shotgun while the man sat in his pickup truck in a dispute over where the victim had placed a post for his mailbox.

Randy Steven Small, 58, was sentenced on Monday for killing Bob Adair.

Brown County Circuit Judge Mary Wertz did not mince words when addressing Small in court.

"You shot him directly in the head at close range, and that resulted in the blowing off of his head. And you left him in that truck," Wertz said, the Herald-Times reported. "This was a dispute over property."

In a statement released after the verdict, Brown County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Rob Seet said nobody should have been killed over such a tiny thing.

"Both Bob and Randy believed the little patch of land was theirs," he said. "It culminated with Randy tearing out and running over Bob's mailbox."

Small's defense attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Law&Crime.

Small made the little matter into one that ended Adair's life on Sept. 15, 2021. It happened at around 2 p.m. on Helms Road off Crooked Creek Road in Brown County, a stretch with only four residences and so remote that cellphone and radio reception was either nonexistent or spotty, authorities said.

Prosecutors Small got mad at Adair when Adair placed building material on the property, culminating in Small tearing out and running over Adair's mailbox.

The dispute ended when Small drove up Helms Road on his large farm tractor, shot Adair through the driver's side window of his Ford F-150, then drove back down Helms Road on his tractor with a long gun in his left hand, leaving him to "deteriorate in the hot, September sun," prosecutors said.

A neighbor testified later that she had never seen Small "mow or bushhog with a firearm" before — using a term for mowing a lawn with a tractor mower. He had only armed himself when he wanted to kill a varmint.

Prosecutors described how police learned of the reported "shots fired" and a possible "suicide by cop" as a game of telephone.

"Small's brothers reported it to the Indiana State Police Pendleton Post, who then reported it to the Indiana State Police Dispatch, who then reported it to the Brown County Sheriff's Office Dispatch, who then reported it to Captain Mike Moore, who then reported it to law enforcement officers on the scene," prosecutors said in a news release.

Once there, police said Small had barricaded in his home, engaging police in a standoff for an hour. When Small finally emerged from his home after one of his brothers called him and encouraged him to turn himself in, police still had no information about a possible shooting victim. But Small was taken into custody to go to the hospital for a mental health evaluation, officials said.

It wasn't until midnight — 10 hours after Adair was killed — that Small's brothers reported the shooting. Around that time, Capt. Moore got through to officers at the scene to check on Small's neighbor.

At the scene, police found Adair dead in the truck's driver's seat. The truck was in gear but out of gas. His foot was still on the brake. His hands were folded peacefully in his lap.

Small was arrested the next day, Sept. 16, 2021. He claimed self-defense, saying he believed Adair was getting out of the truck and had a gun. Prosecutors said Adair was not armed, and photos did not support Small's claim.

Small's brothers tried to cover for him, claiming he told them Adair was driving toward him with his truck. His dog jumped out, and Small thought Adair had a gun, so he shot him.

Jurors deliberated for just under four hours before returning their unanimous guilty verdict on a single murder count on July 25.

Adair was a beloved father and skilled carpenter whose works included many shop doors in the arts district of Nashville, Indiana. He also had a love for bluegrass and played the dobro for the White Lightning Boys, his obituary said. The Brebeuf Jesuit Preparatory School graduate moved to Brown County in 1972.

"Bob found comfort and sustenance in the trees and hollers of Brown County and established a homestead that welcomed guests and loved ones," the obit read. "Everybody was family because he never met a stranger. Slightly eccentric and very funny, Bob sported a long, snow-white beard that could be spotted a mile away. He always wore his Buddhist prayer beads, and his dogs were constant companions as he rambled the country roads and through the town of Nashville. Any dog he owned had to be a truck dog.

"He loved life and his fellow humans and worked hard to take care of those in his community. To say Bob will be missed is as redundant as saying the sun will rise tomorrow. His absence will be felt among all of us, but his smiles, hugs, and kindness will continue to fill the hearts of those who knew him."