Mother maintains son’s innocence

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) – It’s been 12 days since Ashton Harting was killed.

On Martin Luther King Jr. Day, Harting and a group of friends were shot at after they were allegedly knocking over trash cans.

Details of the investigation remained unclear. That’s until an anonymous source pointed police in the direction of a home just a few houses away. Shortly after hearing shots, an eye-witness watched two men run into a house.

Police later discovered Dino Thompson III lived in the home. At the time, Thompson had been placed on active house arrest.

In an interview with police, Thompson told officers he heard someone knocking over trash cans, and became fearful someone would start shooting at his house again.

Thompson told officers he saw a white SUV drive off, and then he heard several shots. According to investigators, Thompson’s girlfriend saw Thompson pull a gun out of a drawer, run outside and moments later shots were fired.

“I don’t know if that is true until I can see it for myself,” said Dawn Thompson, Dino’s mother.

Thompson faced a judge Tuesday afternoon where he officially learned he’s facing murder charges.

“He’s not the child that would do something like this. He’s on house arrest. He doesn’t even know the boy, so why?” said Dawn Thompson.

During a short interview, Dawn Thompson gave her condolences to the Harting family, as she continued to maintain her son is innocent.