INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man has been sentenced for the 2021 murder of Joan Berry.
A judge sentenced 42-year-old Gary Jackson Jr. to 61 years in prison. He was convicted April 17 of murder after a three-day trial. He was also given a habitual offender sentencing enhancement.
Around 7 p.m. on April 21, 2021, IMPD officers responded to a report of a person shot at Riley Hospital for Children. Police arrived and learned 41-year-old Berry had been dropped off at the emergency room after she had been shot multiple times. Doctors pronounced her dead a short time later.
Detectives arrived to the scene and spoke with the on-duty valet, who described the car that dropped Berry off as a blue Nissan. Video surveillance confirmed that description as well.
A few hours later, detectives responded to a vehicle accident in the 5300 block of East 10th Street, near Emerson Avenue, on a report of shots fired involving a blue Nissan.
Detectives spoke with multiple witnesses who heard gunshots while they were driving on East 10th Street. Witnesses told detectives the driver of the blue Nissan sped past them, struck a vehicle and then crashed into a utility pole. The driver, later identified as Jackson, tried to steal another car that was stopped on East 10th Street.
Police obtained a search warrant for Jackson's car. Investigators recovered fired cartridge casings, along with a black shoe matching the size and brand of the right shoe Berry was wearing when she was dropped off at the hospital.
Officers identified and arrested Jackson on Monday, April 26, 2021 in the murder of Berry.
