INDIANAPOLIS — A Plainfield man has been sentenced to 55 years in prison for the 2019 shooting death of a Muslim man following a road rage incident on the west side of Indianapolis.
Dustin Passarelli was convicted of Murder and the Felony Firearm Enhancement after a three-day trial in May for the death of 33-year-old Mustafa Ayoubi.
According to court documents, Passarelli and Ayoubi were involved in a road rage incident on Interstate 465 in Feb. 2019.
Passarelli admitted to police that he followed Ayoubi to his apartment complex where they got into a verbal altercation.
A friend of Ayoubi told police that Passarelli shouted religious and ethnic insults at Ayoubi. The insults included "go back to your country," according to court documents.
Ayoubi was originally from Afghanistan. He was unarmed at the time of his death.
“Mr. Ayoubi’s family and the entire Hoosier Muslim community have been impacted by the actions and hate the defendant displayed on that day,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said. “We cannot eradicate hate in a single step, but the Prosecutor’s Office will continue to hold individuals accountable should they act hatefully against any member in our community.”
