Lafayette woman convicted in double homicide
LAFAYETTE, Ind. (WISH) — A Lafayette woman was convicted on Friday of several charges related to a 2020 double homicide, the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office said.
Jaelynn Billups, now 18, was 17 when Joshua Ungersma, 37, who was a delivery driver for Domino’s Pizza, and Alberto Vanmeter, 19, were fatally shot.
Billups was convicted of murder, 2 counts of felony murder, conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, theft, pointing a firearm, theft of a firearm and carrying a handgun without a license.
According to the prosecutor’s office, Billups has one pending charge: use of a firearm.
The murders happened on Aug. 31, 2020.
Just after 11 p.m., officers with the Lafayette Police Department responded to the 1900 block of North 16th Street in Lafayette on reports of shots fired.
Upon arrival, officers found Ungersma and Vanmeter laying on the ground with Billups hovering over their bodies.
When police ordered Billups to show her hands, she threw a 9mm handgun onto the sidewalk.
Ungersma and Vanmeter sustained gunshot wounds, and both men were pronounced dead at the scene.
According to police, Ungersma had a revolver in his pocket with rounds fired. Court documents indicate that Ungersma had a permit to carry a handgun.
Vanmeter was later identified as Billups’s boyfriend.
According to witnesses, Billups and Vanmeter had called in an order to Domino’s that night. When Ungersma arrived to deliver the order, Billups and Vanmeter attempted to rob him.
Police say Ungersma shot Vanmeter. Billups then shot Ungersma multiple times.
Billups’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Dec. 3.
