INDIANAPOLIS — The two suspects in the shooting death of 19-year-old Elijah Martin in July have officially been charged in Marion County.
According to court documents filed on Tuesday, 18-year-old Adrian Bond was charged with:
- One count of murder;
- One count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony;
- One count of armed robbery, a Level 3 felony.
In relation to the same incident, 18-year-old Jeremiah Shanks was charged with:
- Two counts of murder;
- One count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 2 felony;
- One count of armed robbery, a Level 3 felony;
- One count of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony.
According to previous reports, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded to an apartment complex on N Meridian Street after a man told officers there was a person shot at the complex. The person who was shot, later identified as Martin, was taken to the hospital and died later that day.
During the investigation, documents indicated that before he died, Martin told officers he knew the person who shot him, stating it was a man who was in a relationship with a family member of his who lived in the complex. Police later identified the suspect as Shanks.
While conducting interviews, officers found that a group of people, including Shanks and Martin, were meeting in the afternoon of July 12 for a gun-related transaction. Camera footage reviewed by police showed that Shanks, along with a second individual, met with Martin and entered a building in the complex.
A minute later, camera footage showed Martin “stumbling out of the front entry door… and falling to the ground.” Documents stated other cameras showed Shanks and the other suspect, later identified as Bond, leave the building with weapons and enter another building in the complex.
During an interview with a family member of Shanks, officers contacted him and asked Shanks to be interviewed in relation to the shooting. The documents said he never showed up.
Detectives later determined Shanks was with his girlfriend at an inn, located in the east side of Indianapolis, and was then taken into custody. The documents stated a search warrant was then conducted at the room and officers uncovered a black 9mm Glock handgun as well as a pair of shoes that appeared to match the same ones being worn in the video by Shanks.
Shanks denied to be involved in Martin’s death and denied the footage taken from cameras at the complex was him. The documents stated he had information of others who were involved in the incident.
As detectives continued the investigation, the documents said officers uncovered a recording of a live video on social media “in which the participants seemed to be talking about this incident.” Officers determined one of the participants in the live video was Bond.
After locating his home in east Indianapolis, detectives attempted to approach Bond, who ran back into the home. After he exited the home, Bond was taken into custody.
During an interview, Bond confirmed it was him in photos taken from the complex, but “went on to minimize his involvement in that incident.”
“Bond stated he didn’t know anyone was going to be shot and that he went into (the building) with Shanks and the victim but continued to the third floor to talk to another friend who lives in the building,” the documents said. “He then heard two shots and ran out of the building with Shanks.”
Court records stated both Bond and Shanks are expected to have a pretrial conference at 1 p.m. on Sept. 26. A jury trial for this case is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 2.
