Indy attorney charged with felony theft in connection to crash that killed HSE football star

INDIANAPOLIS – An Indianapolis attorney is charged with felony theft in connection to a high-profile case in Hamilton County. Court records show an attorney hired to represent the family of Mason Alexander is charged with theft, criminal mischief and aiding or inducing unauthorized entry to a motor vehicle. Wearing number 15 for the Royals, Mason Alexander graduated from Hamilton Southeastern and planned to play football for the University of Pittsburgh. Sadly, the young football star was killed in a car crash, where a memorial of flowers and footballs now stands along Florida Road. Alexander was the passenger in a car driven by Trey Williams that swerved off the road, slammed into a tree and caught fire last March. Prosecutors claim a week after the crash, an attorney retained by the victim's family came to Miller’s Towing looking to remove the car's black box. According to court records, despite being told the black box was unusable, the attorney convinced an employee at the tow yard to remove an electronic component, antenna and a few other items. That led to a felony theft charge and two misdemeanors, including criminal mischief, being filed against attorney James David “JD” Masur II.  Masur insisted he was simply trying to preserve the evidence. “Under the law, an attorney is held to the same standard as anybody else,” said Hamilton County Prosecutor Josh Kocher. While the Hamilton County prosecutor insists no one is above the law, the case came to light because a member of Alexander's family became concerned about how the property was taken. “One of the family members for Mason Alexander did the right thing by contacting law enforcement, because he could tell what the attorney was trying to get him to do was not proper,” said attorney Mario Massillamany. Mario Massillamany says attorneys are bound by a code of ethics and the allegations won't help the Alexander family if they seek civil justice. “This attorney, allegedly, if these facts are accurate, did a huge travesty to the Mason Alexander family,” said Massillamany. Despite the allegations against Masur, Trey Williams, who's accused of losing control while trying to pass another driver and caused the fatal crash, is still expected to plead guilty to reckless homicide next week. “We do not believe this incident and the allegations impacted that case, so we dodged a bullet in that regard,” said Kocher. FOX59/CBS4 did reach out to Masur for comment. Within minutes of that request, a motion was filed with Hamilton County courts to prohibit discussion of the case with the news media. Masur is set for trial on the theft charge in July. If convicted, the felony theft carries a punishment between six months and two and a half years.