Man indicted in 2015 triple slaying in Whitehall

After months of investigation, Whitehall police put together a strong enough case to get an indictment on Thursday of a man they believe fatally shot three people inside an apartment in August 2015.

Daveron Minnis, 21, whose last known address was in North Linden, was indicted by a Franklin County grand jury on 13 counts, including three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of aggravated robbery.

He is accused of fatally shooting Dontai L.D. Rheubottom, 33; Kimberli A. Alston, 51; and Charles S. Fischer, 32. The shooting occurred Aug. 19, 2015, inside an apartment at the Shaker Square apartment complex in the 4700 block of Olde Bailey Way.

Minnis was arrested without incident on Thursday when Whitehall police stopped him in a car near Ferris Road and Dresden Street in Clinton Township on the North Side, said Whitehall police Sgt. John Grebb. Minnis is being held in the county jail awaiting a date for his arraignment in county Common Pleas Court.

Police said Minnis was identified as a suspect early in the investigation. He was originally arrested in New York City on Aug. 25, 2015, while driving a white 2014 Dodge Charger that witnesses had told police after the shootings was believed to be the getaway car.

But Whitehall police had to release him after the 2015 arrest because the Franklin County prosecutor’s office determined that there wasn’t enough evidence to seek an indictment, Grebb said.

The sergeant declined to comment on what evidence they now have or how the murders happened.

According to search warrants, it was believed that Rheubottom and Alston, who lived together, were selling drugs out of their apartment unit and Fischer was visiting when the shooter entered and fired multiple shots.