MUNCIE, Ind. — A Delaware County judge sentenced a man to 70 years in prison for shooting and killing another man in the parking lot of a Muncie Walmart.
Tyler Abrams, 34, of Muncie, was arrested July 31, 2022, less than 30 minutes after police said he shot and killed Sam Gillum in the parking lot of a north side Walmart located at 4801 W. Clara Lane.
On Thursday, July 25, Judge Thomas A. Cannon Jr. sentenced Abrams to 60 years for the murder, along with an additional 10 years for the firearm enhancement.
"I am glad that another violent offender has been taken off the streets. We as a society are much safer with Tyler Abrams behind bars," Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney Eric Hoffman said in a statement. "Although nothing can bring Samuel Gillum back to his family and friends, I hope and pray that this sentence will be the first step in the healing process for Samuel’s family and friends."
Police were called to the shooting around 8:45 p.m. that night. They arrived to find a man, identified as Gillum, who had been shot in the head and was lying on the ground in the parking lot. He was taken to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where medics pronounced him dead.
Witnesses told investigators they saw a man in dark shorts and a red shirt shoot Gillum and then run west before leaving the Walmart's parking lot and going onto Morrison Road.
Prosecutor Eric Hoffman formally charged Abrams with murder, criminal recklessness, obstruction of justice and pointing a firearm.
Surveillance video captured the shooting and, according to court documents, it corroborates what the witnesses told police.
In the video, Gillum and his wife could be seen leaving the store and pushing a shopping cart toward their car.
Meanwhile, a man wearing a face mask, dark shorts and a red shirt, later identified as Abrams, could be seen walking toward Gillum's car.
When Abrams made it to Gillum's car, Abrams raises a hand "as if he's pointing something at the victim," court documents say, adding that it appears Abrams is holding something in his hand at this point.
Surveillance video then shows Abrams turn and run to the southwest side of the parking lot.
When police identified Abrams as the suspected shooter, they began searching for him. A witness, who was fishing in a pond west of the Walmart around the same time the shooting happened, saw a man wearing dark shorts, no shirt and carrying a gray, plastic bag similar to a Walmart shopping bag. He was also carrying a red shirt, the witness said.
The witness told police the man, believed to be Abrams, was walking west and appeared to have come from Walmart. He also was walking quickly and was out of breath.
A little after 9 p.m., police found Abrams hiding near a home in a wooded area in the 2000 block of North Nebo Road, about one mile from the Walmart where the shooting happened.
When officers got close to Abrams, court documents say he immediately put his hands in the air and said, "I give up, I'm turning myself in."
Abrams was arrested on initial charges of murder, criminal recklessness, obstruction of justice and pointing a firearm.
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Court documents say he was wearing blue shorts and didn't have a shirt on. However, he had a red shirt, like the one seen in the surveillance video, on the ground next to him.
Abrams didn't have a gun with him when he was arrested. According to court documents, "It appears Abrams discarded the firearm within 26 minutes of shooting Gillum and fleeing the scene."