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Lawrence man sentenced to 63 years for fatally shooting driver at traffic light

Man sentenced 63 years for 2020 murder

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Lawrence man was sentenced to 63 years for fatally shooting a driver at a traffic light in 2020, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.

The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office announced Thursday that 35-year-old Keith Cole has been sentenced to 63 years for the Oct. 8, 2020 murder of Daniel Baxter. Baxter was shot and killed while sitting at a stoplight at East 30th Street and North Keystone Avenue. Cole was convicted by a jury after a three-day trial in March.

On the evening of the shooting, a lieutenant with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department observed Baxter’s vehicle crash in the northeast corner of an intersection on North Keystone. Baxter was unresponsive and suffering from gunshot wounds. Multiple witnesses at the scene cooperated with police, and provided a description of the suspect’s vehicle and the firearm used in the shooting.

Video of the incident showed Baxter, in his vehicle, stopped at the light on East 30th Street when a black Dodge Charger pulls up directly behind him. A man, later identified as Cole, exited the passenger side of the Charger, approached the back passenger side of Baxter’s vehicle, and fired five shots at the driver. Cole then returned to the Charger, and it fled the scene.

Investigators used FLOCK cameras in the area to identify and ultimately locate the vehicle Cole was in at the time of the shooting. The vehicle had recently been involved in a police pursuit, and Cole was one of the passengers in the vehicle during the incident.

Security footage from Baxter’s apartment complex showed the vehicle Cole was in followed Baxter’s vehicle as he exited the complex. Baxter was shot and killed three minutes later.

During a search of Cole’s residence, investigators located the murder weapon wrapped in a plastic bag in a garbage can. Firearm forensics revealed that a fired bullet came from the scene. Two bullets collected during the autopsy were fired from the same gun in Cole’s home.

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