Two 17-year-old Indiana boys in a gang face murder charges in connection to the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy in February in Gary, the Lake County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office said Thursday.
Gary police say a bystander about 12:15 p.m. Feb. 15 found Orie Dodson fatally shot on a sidewalk outside a church in the 1300 block of Lincoln Street. That’s in a residential area northeast of the intersection of Grant Street and West 15th Avenue.
The Lake County coroner ruled the case as a homicide.
His mother has told Chicago area media outlets that Orie was murdered after he left home following a dispute on social media. She says Orie was chased, and that was broadcasted on Facebook Live.
The Lake County prosecutor on Thursday said in a news release that the two boys charged with murder, Dahvee Tupac Brunson and Kriston Lamar Barbee Jr., “gunned down Orie Dodson on behalf of the 49th Avenue Boys Gang.”
No information was included in the prosecutor’s news release, which was shared by Indiana State Police on Thursday, about how the 17-year-olds obtained the guns or what led to the chase and shooting. Court documents in the case were not immediately available on Thursday night.
Online court documents show the boys will have initial hearings late Friday morning in Lake Superior Court, Criminal Division 4 in Gary.
The news release from the prosecutor’s office said the accused boys are from Gary, but online court documents say Barbee is from Chicago.
The murder charges include a firearm sentencing enhancement and a criminal gang sentencing enhancement, which could double the boys’ prison time if they’re convicted.
The news release from the prosecutor’s office also said, “During this investigation, the Homicide Task Force was able to uncover substantial evidence of gang-related crimes pertaining to the 49th Avenue Boys gang including several homicides, drug dealing, illegal firearm possession and sales, and general crimes of violence throughout Lake County.”
The task force includes members of the Gary Police Department, the Indiana State Police, the Indiana State Excise Police, the FBI, and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
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