INDIANAPOLIS — A 19-year-old is charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting a man during a road rage incident on Interstate 65, south of Indianapolis.
Ladon Jenkins is also charged with aggravated battery, criminal recklessness, neglect of a dependent and unlawful carrying of a handgun.
The shooting happened June 29 just after 7:30 p.m. on I-65 southbound just south of the Southport Road exit. Dispatchers received a call reporting a man who had been shot inside a vehicle on the interstate.
(NOTE: The above video is from a previous report on the arrest of Jenkins.)
First responders located the man with a serious injury from being shot. The man was conscious and alert when he was transported to an Indianapolis hospital for treatment, Indiana State Police said in a release.
A witness told state troopers he was travelling near the victim's Honda Accord when a red car pulled up next to the Accord. According to court documents, the witness saw a person in the red car fire five shots into the Accord.
A person in the Accord told police the road rage began on I-465 near Emerson Avenue when they noticed a red car following them. They claimed the red car would pull in front of them and brake check them and throw something at the Accord.
The passenger in the Accord said a Greenwood Police Department officer saw the road rage, turned on their lights, but then drove away. The passenger then said they quickly exited onto I-65 and the red car followed. Shortly after, someone in the red car fired into the Accord, according to the passenger.
The driver of the Accord, who had been shot, told police the road rage started when he was going through a construction area and the red car was trying to get them to go faster. According to court documents, he claimed his passenger and the driver of the red car then "exchanged words," and the road rage escalated. The driver told police the red car pulled up next to them, and the woman passenger in the red car leaned her seat all the way back. He said the driver of the red car then opened fire on them.
The Greenwood officer that witnessed the incident said he saw the road rage starting and someone in the Accord throw something at the red car. The officer said he turned on his lights to get them to stop, but wasn't in uniform and didn't have his vest – so he drove away without stopping them.
Troopers found surveillance video that matched the suspected red car and determined it was a 2015 red Kia Rio. That surveillance video helped establish the man and woman in the red car also had a 2-year-old child with them at the time of the incident.
Police said surveillance video from a Kroger store showed Jenkins and a woman buying burn cream. The mother of the child told police the burn cream was for her 2-year-old, who had been burned by one of the shell casings, according to court documents.
On July 2, troopers were able to stop the red car and arrest Jenkins.
During an interview with police, Jenkins claimed the driver of the other car pointed a gun at him, so he had to defend himself. According to court documents, he told police, “I was angry at the time.” A search of the Accord found no weapons inside.
A previous conviction for Jenkins made it illegal for him to have a gun.
Jenkins' trial is initially set for September.