INDIANAPOLIS (WRTV) — A 17-year-old boy was sentenced Wednesday to 45 years in prison for a September 2024 murder during a marijuana sale in Beech Grove, authorities said.
Emanuel Carter, who was 15 years old at the time, fatally shot MaKayla Bauman, 18, just after 9 p.m. Sept. 29, 2024, in the 5400 block of Fetterbush Lane at the Park View at Beech Grove Apartments. That's off Churchman Avenue between South Arlington Avenue and Emerson Avenue.
Court records show Carter pleaded guilty to murder, and other charges against him were dismissed on Wednesday in Marion Superior Court 28.
Because of his age, the case was initially filed in juvenile court. Prosecutors successfully sought a waiver to adult court, and the case was filed there in June 2025.
“Moving this case to adult court was essential to ensure justice was served,” Mears said in a media notification on Tuesday. “The defendant was just 15 years old when he took a life, and today's sentence reflects the seriousness of his actions. While no sentence can restore what was taken from the victim and her family, this sentence brings accountability and affirms that even those who commit the most serious violent crimes at a young age will face consequences that reflect the gravity of the harm they caused.”
Investigators said the shooting happened during a planned marijuana sale. Bauman had connected with Carter on Snapchat, where he went by the alias “man man.” A witness told investigators that Carter and another person approached Bauman's vehicle, demanded everything, and then shots were fired.
Shell casings collected at the scene indicated two different firearms were used.
The Beech Grove Police Department and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department conducted the investigation. IMPD does not release jail-booking photos of people younger than 18, even when they are charged as adults.
