Merrillville man gets 50 years in prison for fatal shooting at Indianapolis gas station
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Merrillville, Indiana, man was sentenced Thursday to 50 years in prison for the 2021 murder of a man at a gas station on the northwest side of Indianapolis, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says.
Ryan Thomas, 31, died in the March 30, 2021, shooting. Police announced the arrest of Andre George, 24, a few days later in April 2021.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and medics were called shortly before 7:30 p.m. March 30, 2021, to 4881 W. 71st St., the Pike Township Fire Department Headquarters. Dispatchers also received reports of a vehicle accident in the same area. Officers found Thomas with a gunshot wound and provided first aid until medics arrived. Thomas was taken to a hospital before he died.
Detectives later learned the shooting had happened outside the Marathon gas station at 4921 W. 71st St.
Prior to the shooting, Thomas had been assisting George with his disabled vehicle. George told investigators he shot Thomas twice after Thomas allegedly caused damage to George’s vehicle, the prosecutor’s office says.
A news release issued Thursday from the prosecutor’s office said, “Investigators were initially working on a separate case in which a shot was fired in an apartment near the Marathon gas station where the shooting occurred. Officers connected the two incidents after a card belonging to Thomas was discovered in a purse that was with George, along with a handgun that was later determined to be used in both shootings.”
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