INDIANAPOLIS — A man has been charged with murdering a motel tenant in late January after he showed up their room unannounced, leading to a dispute that culminated with him fatally shooting the tenant, according to a court document.
Shane Patton, 29, of Indianapolis is accused of fatally shooting 31-year-old Troy Elleman in a room at the Motor 8 Inn on Shadeland Avenue.
Police responded to the shooting about 2 p.m. January 26 to the 3700 block of North Shadeland Avenue, where they found Elleman with a gunshot wound to his chest. He was transported to Eskinazi Hospital and pronounced dead about 3:05 p.m., according to a probable cause affidavit.
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On the day of the shooting, Patton had shown up unannounced to the room, which Elleman was renting with another person, upsetting Elleman. Patton met Elleman and the other tenant two weeks prior.
Elleman then confronted Patton, got up, opened the front door and told him "let's take this outside," according to the affidavit.
It was then Patton pulled out a handgun, struck Elleman in the head with it and fired a single shot into Elleman's chest.
Police later found Patton at East 38th and North Elizabeth streets after matching his appearance with a person shown in surveillance footage of the shooting. He was arrested on a murder charge and a warrant for robbery.
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During questioning, Patton admitted to being in the room to get high with the person renting the room with Elleman and told detectives he ran because he was wanted on a warrant.
He was also found to be in possession of .93 grams of suspected methamphetamine, according to the affidavit.
An autopsy showed Elleman's cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest. It was ruled a homicide.
Patton is charged with one count each of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm and possession of methamphetamine.
An initial hearing was held Feb. 2 and a jury trial was scheduled for May 16, court records show.
