INDIANAPOLIS -- A woman arrested last August in connection with a triple shooting near the Indiana School for the Deaf is now facing murder charges for one of the men killed in the incident.
Ashley Lewis, 31, originally faced charges of voluntary manslaughter and criminal confinement in connection with the July 2016 death of 24-year-old Wesley Small.
Small was found shot to death inside a car in the 4400 block of Primrose Avenue.
Another man, 29-year-old Dajuan Mitchell, was also found shot inside the vehicle. He was rushed to Eskenazi Hospital, where he later died.
MORE | Three shot, two killed, near Indiana School for the Deaf
A third person, Lewis, was found sitting outside the vehicle with a gunshot wound to the face.
Lewis was arrested and charged a week after the shooting with voluntary manslaughter and criminal confinement while armed with a deadly weapon.
On Monday, Marion County prosecutors filed upgraded charges of murder against Lewis.
According to a probable cause affidavit, investigators believe Lewis and her boyfriend, Mitchell, went looking for Small because they believed he was “snitching.” Mitchell reportedly thought Small had been telling people Mitchell was responsible for the fatal shooting of Jason Byrd, 32, two days earlier.
MORE | Man shot, killed on north side
Lewis reportedly told police she knew Mitchell frequently bought and sold guns and that as a convicted felon he was not allowed to possess one.
Police allege that when the couple found Small, Mitchell ordered him into their car at gunpoint, at which point he handed the gun to Lewis. At some point during the confrontation, Small allegedly pulled his own gun and began shooting – striking Lewis in the face and fatally wounding Mitchell.
According to the affidavit, Lewis admitted to police that she fired back, striking and killing Small.
Lewis has been in police custody since her arrest on Aug. 5, 2016. She will now be held without bond on the upgraded murder charge until trial.
MORE FROM THE CRIME BEAT | The ‘Grundy Crew’ has a long history in Indianapolis. It may have caught up with them. | PC: Man murdered over missing drugs belonging to the ‘Mexican Mafia’ | Why are .40-calibers surging in Indy as crime guns? | Message written in blood leads IMPD to murder suspect | MAP: 2017 Indianapolis Homicides
TOP TRENDING VIDEOS
