INDIANAPOLIS — IMPD detectives arrested a 21-year-old man for his alleged role in a 2020 murder on the east side of Indianapolis.
Around 2:15 a.m. on Oct. 20, 2020, IMPD officers responded to a report of a person down in the 3300 block of Ashland Avenue, near East 34th Street and North Shadeland Avenue.
Officers arrived and found 18-year-old Rashaad Germany, Jr., lying in a yard after he had been shot. Medics pronounced Germany dead at the scene.
(NOTE: The video above is from a previous report on Rashaad Germany, Jr.'s father pleading for answers in his son's death.)
Homicide detectives have been investigating the incident since the murder took place.
On April 3, 2024, the Marion County Prosecutor's Office filed a warrant for the arrest of 21-year-old Nichale Johnson, of Indianapolis.
Two weeks later on April 15, IMPD Violent Crimes Unit detectives, with the assistance of IMPD SWAT unit, located and arrested Johnson in the 3700 block of North Emerson Avenue, near East 38th Street.
"IMPD would like to thank the officers and detectives who investigated this homicide, as well as the community for their cooperation and support," IMPD said in a statement.
Johnson's initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday, April 18.
Days after the shooting, 13News spoke with the 18-year-old's father, who pleaded for the public's help in bringing justice to his son.
Rashaad Germany Sr. started looking at family photos of him and his son and realized even more how much his son looks like him.
"I can't even describe the pain that I am going through right now," Rashaad Sr. said. "I just want to know why? For the life of me I can't figure out why."
They called Rashaad Jr. "Deuce" from a very young age. He and his father had an unbreakable bond. Germany started allowing his son to shadow him more just to teach him how to be a responsible young man.
Deuce recently decided that he wanted to study culinary arts after noticing that his father was a good cook. He watched his dad in the kitchen and told him he wanted to open his own restaurant one day. In the meantime, you would find the 18-year-old playing video games, which was one of his favorite hobbies.
Rashaad Sr. recalls always hearing his son in the other room glued to the TV while playing a video game and being so into it, he would forget about everything else around him. Often, Rashaad Sr. would yell into the room for his son to turn down the audio but knew he was so happy playing video games.
Deuce and his cousin would often talk Rashaad into joining them to record a TikTok video. Rashaad Sr. would do it just to make his son was happy and admittedly enjoyed it himself.
But dancing is just one of things the 18-year-old loved doing, and his father said his "Mini Me" never let autism get in his way. When Deuce really got excited, Rashaad Sr. shared that he would stutter because he would be having such a good time. Deuce also loved other social media sites, and when he met new people, he would reach out to them on social media asking if they were OK.
"My son was 18 years old," Rashaad Sr. said. "If you met him, you would know that he had the mind of a 13- or 14-year-old. He would get pumped up if I said, 'We are going to Walmart.' You know what I mean? You would think we were going to Disney World."