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Indianapolis January 2018 homicides: 31 days, 16 victims, 4 arrests

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After a year that saw a record 154 murders, 16 people were victims of criminal homicide in January in Indianapolis.

Victims ranged from 19 to 75 years old, and all but one of the victims were men.

Of those 16 deaths, 13 were from gunshot wounds, two were from stabbings and one was described by the coroner’s office as blunt trauma injuries. Three gunshot victims were found shot to death in cars, while police say another was shot and then pushed out of her own car.

In all, the 15 separate incidents occurred on just nine days of the month.

Arrests had been made in four of the cases as of Feb. 2.

In one case, a father-in-law allegedly stabbed his son-in-law during a dispute that began over a missing Bluetooth earpiece. In another, police say a man shot and killed his mother’s boyfriend after the boyfriend punched him in the mouth.

January 3

Rodriquez Anderson

Rodriquez Anderson, 27, was found shot to death in the passenger seat of his silver Mustang around 9 a.m. in the 3600 block of Schofield Avenue, near East 38th Street and Keystone Avenue. A DPW worker was in the neighborhood, saw the car and called 911.

Anderson’s car had been shot into 15 times; detectives believe the shooting occurred elsewhere and then the car was driven to where they found it.

24-Hour News 8’s Vi Nguyen spoke to Anderson’s sister Octavia at a vigil held by family and friends the next week.

“He was very friendly; he always kept a smile on his face, no matter what,” Octavia said. “Even when he was mad, he’d smile.”

Police have not released suspect information, nor have they announced arrests in connection with Anderson’s death.

January 5

Matthew Boddie

Around 4:15 in the morning, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department found 33-year-old Matthew Boddie shot in the middle of North Somerset Avenue near West 17th Street. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.

Alyjah Mahammad

Just before 10 the same night across town, officers called out for a report of shots fired found 19-year-old Alyjah Mahammad on a sidewalk in the 3600 block of Mitthoeffer Road, suffering a gunshot wound. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Suspect information was not released in connection with those two deaths, nor had police announced arrests in either case.

January 7

William Sullivan

Police say Sullivan, 67, was found with an open wound to the chest around 8:30 in the morning in the 3000 block of North California Street, near West 30th and Dr. MLK Jr. streets.

No additional details or suspect information was released. No arrest was announced in the case.

January 13

Three people were shot and killed in separate incidents over 24 hours on the city’s east side.

Jesse Daniels

Police were called to the 300 block of South Oakland Avenue around 2:30 a.m. on a report of a person shot. The person who called police told dispatchers “We need an ambulance. My brother shot my mom’s boyfriend.” When asked why his brother shot the man, the caller said, “Well, my mom’s boyfriend punched him, so he pulled out his gun and shot him several times.”

Medics arrived and pronounced Daniels dead at the scene. He had sustained multiple gunshot wounds to the head, court documents say.

Jacob McIntosh, 23, told arriving officers, “I shot him,” according to charging documents in the case. McIntosh’s girlfriend told detectives Daniels acted “aggressive and threatening” when she and McIntosh got to the residence, which led to an argument and Daniels punching McIntosh. That’s when, according to his girlfriend, McIntosh went to his bedroom and came back downstairs “holding a handgun in each hand.” McIntosh told police who questioned him that Daniels had taken advantage of his mother and stolen from her.

“I ended his life to begin a new one for my mother. Hopefully, to begin a new one for my mother’s,” McIntosh told police, court documents say.

McIntosh was charged with murder and remained in the Marion County Jail, online records show. His next appearance in court is scheduled for March 14.

Tyrone Burt

Around 4 a.m. the same day, officers found 40-year-old Tyrone Burt on the ground in the 3700 block of North Wallace Avenue, near 38th Street and Emerson Avenue, suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Medics pronounced Burt dead at the scene.

Toby George, 41, was arrested that day and charged with murder in connection with Burt’s death.

Court documents show a number of people were in and out of the residence leading up to the fatal shooting. Those questioned provided police with conflicting narratives regarding exactly who was where and what caused compounding arguments between George, George’s girlfriend, her relatives, and finally Burt, to turn deadly.

George remained in the Marion County Jail, with his next court appearance scheduled for Feb. 15.

Calvin Hunter

Later that night, officers were called to the 3700 block of Celtic Drive – just south of East 38th Street, between Post and Mitthoeffer roads – around 8:45 p.m.  and found 28-year-old Calvin Hunter with at least one gunshot wound in an SUV on the property.

Police told 24-Hour News 8 they think the Hunter was shot inside the vehicle and then crashed onto the property where the car was found.

No suspect description was released, and no arrest had been announced in connection with the shooting.

January 15

Derick Daniels

Two days later, police responded to a double shooting less than a mile away from where Hunter’s body was found.

A man later taken to the hospital in critical condition with at least one gunshot wound flagged down police in the street around 7:40 p.m. about another person shot.

Police found Derick Daniels dead inside a car nearby. Several members of the Ten Point Coalition showed up near the scene that night, since the group began patrolling from 38th Street north to 42nd Street and from Post Road east to Mitthoeffer Road on Jan. 10.

It was not clear whether the person left in critical condition knew Daniels.

Police did not provide a suspect description, nor had an arrest been announced in connection with the case.

January 18

Trevor Mann

Three days later and less than a mile away from the two scenes where Daniels and Hunter were found fatally shot, police investigated the shooting death of 19-year-old Trevor Mann, who suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was found in an empty townhouse.

Vi Nguyen spoke to Mann’s mother, who said she reported her son as missing the week before he was found dead, and who identified her son by the tattoos on his hands. Cathy Mann described her son as goofy, outgoing and caring and said he was taking on big responsibilities as a new father to a 2-month-old boy.

Mann also had a message for the person responsible for her son’s death: “Just turn yourself in, turn yourself in. Think about what your mother would go through if it was you in that body bag and not my son.”

24-Hour News 8’s Julian Grace spoke to a woman who works with children in the neighborhood. She says investment in the area is key to reducing crime. She wants to see the abandoned buildings in her neighborhood turned into affordable housing. The Rev. Charles Harrison with the Ten Point Coalition said he was going to meet with management at the townhome and apartment community to recommend they hire private security guards.

No suspect description was released, and no arrest had been announced in connection with Mann’s death.

January 21

Franklin Lainez-Carcamo

Emergency responders with the Wayne Township Fire Department took 38-year-old Franklin Lainez-Carcamo to Sidney & Lois Eskenazi Hospital in critical condition on Sunday afternoon after he was found stabbed on the front porch of a residence in the 300 block of Barton Avenue, on the west side.

Lainez-Carcamo died four days later as a result of his injuries, and his father-in-law, Leroy Benge, was arrested in connection with the stabbing.

Detectives spoke with Benge, his wife and his daughter about the circumstances leading up to Lainez-Carcamo’s stabbing. While each account portrayed the physical altercation differently — whether or not Lainez-Carcamo had a knife, the positions of the two men when the stabbing occurred, and to what extent Benge’s wife and daughter tried to de-escalate the situation — all said the argument began when Benge accused Lainez-Carcamo of stealing his Bluetooth earpiece.

Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry charged Benge with voluntary manslaughter, knowingly killing another human being while acting under a sudden heat.

Benge remained in the Marion County Jail, according to online records, and is next scheduled to appear in court on March 21.

James Slaughter

When 20-year-old James Slaughter arrived in critical condition at Community North Hospital on Sunday night, it wasn’t clear where the shooting had taken place.

Slaughter died at the hospital, and police believed a possible a possible location for the shooting was the intersection of Biscayne Road and Bel Air Drive, less than a mile from the scenes where Mann, Hunter and Daniels were found.

No suspect descriptions were provided, nor were arrests announced in connection with Slaughter’s death.

January 26

Ron Ralston

People who knew 75-year-old Ron Ralston said he was nothing short of a generous man. He was found dead inside his home on the south side of Indianapolis in the 1800 block of Inisheer Court. He died from blunt traumatic injuries, according to the coroner’s office.

The investigation began when the housekeeper showed up to work, found a mess at the home and called 911.

Vi Nguyen spoke to Ralston’s friend, Lisa Marchino.

“I just don’t see how another individual could do that to someone and nobody would know that it wouldn’t be found, so I just have every confidence that they will find them,” she said.

Police said they noticed several things missing from the home, including two of Ralston’s vehicles — a Hummer and a Mustang. Both vehicles were located.

Billy Hawkins

Across town on the afternoon of the same day, officers responded to a report of shots fired in the 3700 block of Hillside Avenue. They found 35-year-old Billy Hawkins a street over on Baltimore Avenue, fatally shot.

Suspect information was not released in connection with those two deaths, nor had police announced arrests in either case.

January 28

Three people were shot and killed on the last Sunday of January in two separate incidents on the east side.

James Ratcliffe and Deron Gray

James Ratcliffe had been a security guard at the Sawmill Saloon at 13th Street and North Sherman Drive, but friends say he was hanging out, not working, in the early hours of Sunday morning when five people were shot.

Ratcliffe, 50, and Deron Gray, 24, died of their gunshot wounds, while two other victims were hospitalized in critical condition, the fifth in stable condition. IMPD said a disturbance at the bar led to the gunfire.

Alfonzo Fowler, one of Ratcliffe’s childhood friends, told 24-Hour News 8’s Tim McNicholas he visited the bar once, last fall, and a fight broke out.

“The bar should be shut down,” Fowler said. “It’s a danger zone for anybody that goes in there. How can you have fun? You have to carry a gun just to have fun or you can’t return home to your safety.”

While police said any shooting suspect or person of interest was accounted for, and no immediate threat to the public remained on Sunday, they did not release any suspect names, the condition of that person or people or any arrests in the case.

Catrina Russell

A little more than 12 hours later, officers found 49-year-old Catrina Russell shot and killed less than two miles away in the parking lot of the New York Express convenience store at the corner of East New York and North Rural streets.

Police said they believe Russell was driving a charcoal-colored Lexus and pulled up to the convenience store when her passenger shot her and pushed her out of the car, then drove away. Russell’s car was found abandoned near 16th Street and North Sherman Drive.

IMPD announced Monday they believed 52-year-old Fredrick Ford was the last person with Russell while she was alive.

On Friday afternoon, police arrested Ford, who faces a preliminary charge of murder. He remained in the Marion County Jail, online records show.SaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSaveSave

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