Man charged with murder in his brother’s death
A 20-year-old man was arrested and charged in the fatal shooting of his brother on Wednesday in Merrillville, officials said.
Kafele Laurence WardBrown, 20, of Merrillville, was charged Thursday in Lake Superior Court with murder in the death of Dennis Ward, 27, also of Merrillville.
Ward-Brown and Ward are siblings, said Cmdr. Jeff Rice, Merillville police spokesman.
Police were called shortly before 4:50 a.m. Wednesday for a report of a gunshot victim in the 7500 block of Hendricks Street, a probable cause affidavit states.
The first officer to arrive found Dennis Ward on the ground in the back yard of a residence underneath a window, covered in blood, according to the affidavit. The officer saw that Ward had several gunshot wounds, but Ward “refused to provide further information and was physically combative” with the officer, the affidavit states.
Po l i c e found blood around the window near where Ward was found and determined that he “had been shot inside the residence and had crawled outside through the window,” according to the affidavit.
Paramedics and firefighters provided aid to Ward, and he was taken to Methodist Hospitals Southlake in Merrillville, where he was pronounced dead shortly before 6 a.m., the affidavit states.
Ward was shot five times in his chest and arm, according to the affidavit. The coroner’s office ruled his death a homicide, according to a release.
Police called Northwest Regional SWAT to the scene, the affidavit states. Meanwhile, officers noticed three or four children, who appeared to be between 5 and 10 years old, inside the house, according to the affidavit. Police tried to get the children to come outside, but they did not respond to police and appeared to be talking to someone inside the house, court records state. The homeowner then arrived at the residence and called the children out of the house, according to the affidavit.
The homeowner said that her son, Ward-Brown, had been at the home before she left, but police were unable to find him at the scene, the affidavit states.
The homeowner ’s daughter said she had been sleeping at the house when she heard “several loud pops coming from the basement area of the residence,” according to the affidavit. The daughter looked out her bedroom window and saw Ward-Brown, her brother, “running from the residence,” the affidavit states.
The daughter went downstairs to try to get into her brother’s bedroom, but it was locked, according to the affidavit. The girl “then observed blood, panicked and locked the front door,” the affidavit states. She then called her mother, and she and her siblings waited inside the residence until her mother arrived, court records state.
A Merrillville officer later located Ward-Brown around 9:45 a.m. in the 7500 block of Hendricks Street, near where the shooting occurred, according to the affidavit. As the officer drove Ward-Brown to the police department, WardBrown said, “Don’t want you to go on a manhunt for me, so I figured I’d turn myself in. People make mistakes all the time, now I’m going to have to face the c o n s e q u e n c e s,” the affidavit states.
Once at the police department, WardBrown requested to speak with an attorney, according to affidavit states.
Ward-Brown was in custody Thursday and is being held without bail, court records show. An attorney and court date were not listed for Ward-Brown as of Thursday afternoon.