BEECH GROVE, Ind. – Beech Grove Police announced they have arrested an active-duty Army Sergeant in the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Xavier Weir in Beech Grove.
German Parra, 26, Indianapolis, faces preliminary charges of murder and criminal recklessness in the Weir’s April 7 killing. Beech Grove Police say Parra is an active-duty Sergeant in the U.S. Army, stationed at Fort Knox, Kentucky, as a military police officer.
Weir’s mother, Michelle Raines, spoke through tears after the arrest was announced.
“I’m happy that they caught the guy but, I mean, my son is never coming back,” Raines said. “It’s not like he’s a child that’s not thinking. He’s 26 years old and took my kid, I’ll never see him. And he protects the country? He’s a monster.”
Parra is now the second person charged in Weir’s death. Sixteen-year old Isaiha Funez is already charged in Weir’s murder.
The new arrest comes after police spend more than two weeks looking for a second person captured on surveillance video, jumping out of a blue car and opening fire on Weir’s vehicle in Beech Grove. Weir was later pulled out of his burning car with a fatal gunshot wound to the head.
Police say Funez confessed when they showed him the video, and according to court records, he told police it all started with a feud on Snapchat.
According to court documents, Funez told police Weir had robbed his brother and posted social media threats against Funez, including posting a $1,200 bounty on Funez.
Court records show Funez told police he never knew Parra’s name, but rode with him to a quinceanera celebration on the west side of Indianapolis on April 6. Over the course of the night, Funez said he learned the 26-year-old man had planned to rob Weir because Weir had advertised on Snapchat that he was selling THC cartridges and had a stack of cash. Funez said the man was also mad at Weir for something but didn’t know what it was.
Funez told police the man driving the car had arranged to know where Weir would be selling THC cartridges to other individuals that night and followed Weir’s car until it pulled into a driveway on Grovewood Drive in Beech Grove. That’s where surveillance video showed two individuals jumping out of a Subaru car and opening fire on Weir’s car.
At some point in the shooting, police say Funez sustained a gunshot wound to his own leg. Funez told police the 26-year-old man drove him to an area hospital for treatment.
Funez later admitted he was one of the individuals shown in the video of the shooting.
Funez and several other teens told Beech Grove police the man driving the blue Subaru was known only as “the Army Guy” and he had recently started showing up at parties and quinceanera celebrations.
“We continued to hear of a description of an individual and for some time that individual’s name eluded us,” said Beech Grove Police Detective Robert Mercuri. “But we knew who we were looking for.”
After interviewing several friends of Funez and Weir, Beech Grove Police were eventually able to identify the man in the video as German Parra. They were also able to match Parra and his car to security video at the hospital when Funez was dropped off.
Police say they worked with the U.S. Army at Fort Knox to arrange an interview with Parra. Although Parra invoked his legal right to counsel and no interview was conducted, investigators say they were able to see several tattoos on Parra’s arms that matched those described by several of the teens they had interviewed.
A search of Parra’s quarters at the military base revealed clothing that appeared to match clothing seen in the video at the hospital. Specifically, a Sucios brand sweatshirt with a picture of an AK-47 and the words “this is a dirty business.”
Investigators also located a plastic bag with four 9mm unspent bullets in it along with a 40-caliber bullet. None of the rounds found in the bag were military-issued rounds, according to police.
Police also showed a photo of German Parra to multiple individuals they had already interviewed. Each person identified Parra as “the Army Guy” they had encountered before.
Beech Grove Police worked with U.S. Marshals to arrest Parra in Kentucky on April 23.The Department is now seeking a governor’s warrant to extradite Parra back to Indiana to face charges of murder and criminal recklessness. A court hearing in Hardin County, Kentucky, is currently scheduled for May 24.
