IMPD arrests trio of murder suspects for 3 recent homicides

INDIANAPOLIS — For the third time in the last two days, IMPD has arrested a man for murder following a trio of deaths.

At a south side apartment complex in mid-April, 18-year-old Ngun Peng was shot to death. Police said three witnesses came forward and helped identify 23-year-old Roberto Melendrez-Moran as the killer.

Eleven days later on April 25, in the parking lot of a northwest side apartment complex along High School road, 70-year-old Jesus Mazariego was found severely beaten and died four days later.

Joshua Dye is now accused of robbing and killing that victim. Dye was also arrested for the robbery of a separate victim which also occurred on April 25, 2022, at 4140 N. High School Rd.

IMPD Lt. Shane Foley believes the arrests illustrate an important message.

“When people step forward and work with our detectives, we’re more likely to solve cases,” said Foley.

Multiple witnesses also helped police identify 43-year-old Agripino Rivera as the suspect in a deadly stabbing last week downtown. That stabbing claimed the life of 24-year-old Taylor George who was stabbed in the neck.

So far this year, two-thirds of the city’s homicides remain unsolved, but IMPD said they can’t improve that number without help from the public According to IMPD reports, 55 out of this year’s 84 homicides remain unsolved, which translates to 65 percent of cases.

“Our detectives work hard, but they can’t do it in a bubble. In the past, people have said it’s your job to solve a case, but it’s also kind of the responsibility of people with information to come forward,” said Foley.

Following the south side killing, police tracked Melendrez-Moran down to Greenwood where he was taken into custody following a SWAT standoff.

Court records show the suspect confessed he posted something on Facebook that upset the victim and sparked an argument between the pair at the suspect’s apartment. That resulted in an exchange of gunfire, with the suspect shot in the hand and the 18-year-old dead.

Melendrez-Moran claimed he thought the victim was going to shoot him so he shot the victim and the victim returned fire. Police found large amounts of drugs inside the suspect’s apartment.  

As always anyone with information on any unsolved homicide can contact either IMPD’s homicide office or Crime Stoppers at 317-262-TIPS.