INDIANAPOLIS — Court records claim a fender bender led to a murder outside a gas station Thursday night on Indy’s northeast side.
Police claim the suspect briefly left, then returned to the scene and admitted to the killing.
One community leader said he’s not surprised by the death because he recently warned police about the potential for violence surrounding 38th and Mitthoeffer.
An affidavit claims Darius Butts was driving an ice cream truck when he hit a Camaro.
Surveillance video allegedly shows the driver of the Camaro came out of the store and began discussing the damage when Butts pulled out a gun and shot the victim five times.
“I’m not surprised someone was killed,” said reverend James Jackson. “Unfortunately, you can kind of see the handwriting on the wall.”
Reverend Jackson’s church sits less than a half mile from the scene.
Jackson said he recently spoke to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department and a City-County councilperson about his concerns that tall grass, trash and a shopping center parking lot used for truck and RV parking could lead to violence.
“There’s just a lot of activity. There’s a lot of code violations,” said Jackson. “We really need help out there. We’re doing what we can with jobs and outreach, but we need more enforcement.”
In this case, court records show Butts had an active warrant for his arrest since April after he violated terms of his probation from a previous case by turning off his GPS monitor.
Police claim after being arrested for the murder, Butts was too angry and intoxicated to provide an explanation for the killing.
“At the end of the day, we have one man in the grave and one that may go to prison for the rest of his life, and quite possibly this all could have been prevented,” said Jackson.
Butts is being held without bond at the Marion County Jail. He’s due in court for an initial hearing next week.
