MARTINSVILLE, Ind. — A 21-year-old told Martinsville police officers that he had been trying to teach a group of teenagers “a lesson” due to them constantly harassing him which led to the man standing up to the teens with a gun — and opening fire.
Just after midnight, as Saturday turned to Sunday, Martinsville police were called to a home on S. Homer Avenue on report of a shooting. Officers ended up uncovering two victims suffering from gunshot wounds: a 19-year-old male with two gunshot wounds to the leg and a juvenile with a wound near the groin.
The juvenile ended up being airlifted to a hospital in critical condition while the 19-year-old was taken to a hospital via ambulance and listed to be in stable condition.
A third juvenile was later found to have suffered a minor graze wound to the foot but wasn’t transported to a hospital.
Officers were quickly able to determine that Damien Lee Hines, 21, of Martinsville was the suspected shooter and took the man into custody on York Street.
According to court documents, Hines admitted to firing a gun at a group of three teenagers who he claimed were attempting to jump him.
Hines told police the shooting victims had been routinely harassing him for weeks, shouting at him while he was outside his home, threatening to beat him up and vandalizing his vehicle with eggs and cheese.
According to court documents, Hines admitted to taking his actions too far by telling officers he “f***** up” and was in the wrong for his actions. Hines said he’d only been trying to teach his accused harassers a lesson.
According to several witnesses, the 19-year-old shooting victim had been telling several individuals about how he wanted to fight Hines. He reportedly sent a video to one person where he was shouting insults at Hines’ home while driving past.
Court documents reveal that Hines told police that the 19-year-old and two juveniles were once more threatening to attack him when Hines decided to pull out a gun.
Hines claimed the 19-year-old said, “Come at me, I will slit your throat,” while approaching Hines, which led him to fire.
Witness accounts vary, according to the documents, with several saying that the 19-year-old emptied his pockets in anticipation of fighting Hines, but was not seen holding a knife or making threats of slitting Hines’ throat.
Hines told investigators he fired a warning shot as the 19-year-old approached him before then allegedly admitting to aiming the gun at the 19-year-old and pulling the trigger.
Hines claimed he wasn’t sure if any of his shots hit any of the three teenagers, which is why he didn’t call 911 to report the shooting.
Investigators spoke to several witnesses and individuals familiar with both the victims and Hines, who repeated claims of the teenagers harassing Hines and vandalizing his vehicle with cheese.
One witness also claimed that the 19-year-old shooting victim had been drinking Fireball prior to the encounter and had been game-planning to fight Hines.
Hines is charged with one count of battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, and three counts of criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon, a Level 6 felony.
If convicted, Hines could face up to six years in prison.
