Latest news with #GMCArcadia
Yahoo
21-07-2025
- Yahoo
Second man on trial for 13-year-old's gang death
A trial opened Monday for a second man charged in a 13-year-old's Gary gang-linked slaying. Dahvee Brunson, 19, is charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege Brunson, Elijah Porter and Kriston Barbee gunned down 13-year-old Orie Dodson in a drive-by shooting front of Gary's Power and Light Church on Feb. 15, 2023. Authorities believe that in a two-way Instagram Live video, Dodson was disrespecting Julius 'Chop' James IV, 24 — a 'revered' and 'untouchable' figure in the 49th Avenue Boys gang, according to court records. James was gunned down in Gary on Feb. 11, 2019. Brunson had been starting to 'associate' with a rival 5th Ave. gang, prosecutors said. Ladaisha Baker, Porter's on-and-off girlfriend, was also on the Instagram chat. When she testified in Barbee's trial, Deputy Prosecutor Tim Brown accused her of downplaying what she knew. She has not been charged in the case. Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe, with co-counsel Tim Brown, told jurors the trio fired 38 times, hitting Dodson three times. The boy was killed by a shot to his back as he ran, she said. He was also shot two more times in the back of his legs. They had threatened to shoot up Dodson's mom's house, Dafoe said. That day, they 'stalked' and 'hunted' him. Dodson got a social media call within 30 minutes of the shooting from Brunson's account. Investigators later found rap lyrics in Brunson's phone about two weeks later that appeared to vaguely allude to parts of the shooting. It was about his 'experiences,' Dafoe said. 'He doesn't just talk about sliding (drive-by shootings). He does it.' Defense lawyer Herb Shaps countered that Brunson was at a relative's home on Gary's west side that morning. Records show he filed a notice of an alibi in early January 2024. He argued his client wouldn't be associated with the 49th Ave Boys, a Glen Park gang on Gary's east side. He was 'not involved in this murder,' Shaps, with co-counsel Brett Galvan, argued. No guns recovered were traced back to the shooting. A man testified Monday he lent the silver GMC Arcadia to Kriston Barbee on Feb. 14, 2023 and it was later used in the shooting. It was supposed to be returned the next morning. Barbee gave it back that evening with a bullet hole in the back part of the roof. The man said he didn't notice it until he washed the vehicle a few weeks later. He also said he didn't remember Barbee's name — he knew him as 'nephew' but knew the teen's father. The teen did odd jobs around his home Brunson's trial is expected to continue into next week. Co-defendant Kriston Barbee, 19, got 125 years for the killing in August 2024. Cappas denied bond for Porter earlier this month. His trial is set in October. mcolias@
Chicago Tribune
21-07-2025
- Chicago Tribune
Second man on trial for 13-year-old's gang death
A trial opened Monday for a second man charged in a 13-year-old's Gary gang-linked slaying. Dahvee Brunson, 19, is charged with murder. He has pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors allege Brunson, Elijah Porter and Kriston Barbee gunned down 13-year-old Orie Dodson in a drive-by shooting front of Gary's Power and Light Church on Feb. 15, 2023. Authorities believe that in a two-way Instagram Live video, Dodson was disrespecting Julius 'Chop' James IV, 24 — a 'revered' and 'untouchable' figure in the 49th Avenue Boys gang, according to court records. James was gunned down in Gary on Feb. 11, 2019. Brunson had been starting to 'associate' with a rival 5th Ave. gang, prosecutors said. Ladaisha Baker, Porter's on-and-off girlfriend, was also on the Instagram chat. When she testified in Barbee's trial, Deputy Prosecutor Tim Brown accused her of downplaying what she knew. She has not been charged in the case. Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe, with co-counsel Tim Brown, told jurors the trio fired 38 times, hitting Dodson three times. The boy was killed by a shot to his back as he ran, she said. He was also shot two more times in the back of his legs. They had threatened to shoot up Dodson's mom's house, Dafoe said. That day, they 'stalked' and 'hunted' him. Dodson got a social media call within 30 minutes of the shooting from Brunson's account. Investigators later found rap lyrics in Brunson's phone about two weeks later that appeared to vaguely allude to parts of the shooting. It was about his 'experiences,' Dafoe said. 'He doesn't just talk about sliding (drive-by shootings). He does it.' Defense lawyer Herb Shaps countered that Brunson was at a relative's home on Gary's west side that morning. Records show he filed a notice of an alibi in early January 2024. He argued his client wouldn't be associated with the 49th Ave Boys, a Glen Park gang on Gary's east side. He was 'not involved in this murder,' Shaps, with co-counsel Brett Galvan, argued. No guns recovered were traced back to the shooting. A man testified Monday he lent the silver GMC Arcadia to Kriston Barbee on Feb. 14, 2023 and it was later used in the shooting. It was supposed to be returned the next morning. Barbee gave it back that evening with a bullet hole in the back part of the roof. The man said he didn't notice it until he washed the vehicle a few weeks later. He also said he didn't remember Barbee's name — he knew him as 'nephew' but knew the teen's father. The teen did odd jobs around his home Brunson's trial is expected to continue into next week. Co-defendant Kriston Barbee, 19, got 125 years for the killing in August 2024. Cappas denied bond for Porter earlier this month. His trial is set in October.
Yahoo
07-06-2025
- Yahoo
Stolen mail tossed along US-131; charges filed
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A man linked to an Illinois theft ring who fled police in Kalamazoo, tossing letters along US-131 during the chase, appeared in federal court this week on mail theft charges. Dequon Darvece Hardimon, 26, was indicted for conspiracy to steal mail and possession of stolen mail. Police are looking for two others. They're accused of coming to Michigan from Illinois in a rental vehicle 'for the purpose of stealing mail.' During a May 19 police chase along southbound US-131, stolen mail was tossed from the windows of the fleeing vehicle, officials said. Some was recovered. According to federal court records, thieves targeted mailboxes throughout the Kalamazoo area, looking specifically for personal checks and business checks. The stolen checks were then fraudulently cashed. Postal inspectors were conducting surveillance in mid-May at Kalamazoo's Miller Road branch when a 2012 GMC Arcadia pulled up to the mailboxes. Two men jumped out and, using an access key, got into the mailboxes, 'dumping the collected mail into the front passenger and rear passenger seats' of the Arcadia, according to a criminal complaint. Postal inspectors, emergency lights activated, approached the Arcadia, which jumped a concrete curb and drove across the lawn in an attempt to flee, records show. The chase was on. 'During the pursuit, postal inspectors observed large quantities (of) mail being discarded from the target vehicle, primarily along U.S. 131 south,' records show. Postal inspectors were assisted by three other police agencies in the pursuit, which ended about 15 miles away, on Red Arrow Highway in the VanBuren County village of Mattawan. Hardimon said the only reason he stopped was because of engine failure, and he attempted to run 'because he hates the police,' a U.S. postal inspector wrote in a criminal complaint. Hardimon was arrested. Two others made good their escape. Officials found multiple pieces of mail inside the Arcadia, along with multiple personal checks with payment receipts, court records show. Hardimon told investigators he was offered $1,000 to drive the two unidentified individuals around the Kalamazoo area, records show. Discarded mail was recovered along US-131 that matched mail found inside the Arcadia, records show. During a federal court hearing in Grand Rapids this week, a tentative trial date was set for August. The two federal charges filed against Hardimon are each punishable by up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
