Gary man acquitted in 2019 fatal shooting of 20-year-old
Detectives said deadly incident drug-related
A Gary man was acquitted Thursday in the murder of a Griffith man who was buying marijuana outside the Park West apartments, according to court records.
Althirty Christopher Hunter, 22, was charged in the Dec. 3, 2019, shooting death of Marcus Alonzo, 20.
Griffith officers responded to the shooting around 11 p.m. in the 900 block of River Road in the Park West Apartment complex, according to a probable cause affidavit. Officers found Alonzo on the ground with a gunshot wound to the face. He was taken to Methodist Hospital’s Northlake
campus in Gary, where he later died.
Witnesses at the scene told police, according to the affidavit, that Alonzo had been messaging with a woman on his phone about buying marijuana and that at around 10:45 p.m., he went outside, records said. Witnesses also said that as they rushed out to tend to Alonzo after hearing a gunshot, they saw a white fourdoor car leaving the area, records said.
Police then searched the department’s License Plate Recognition cameras at the intersection of Colfax Street and Ridge Road, where they saw a white Chevrolet Cruze registered to Ashley Middleton traveling westbound toward Park West shortly before the gunshot was heard, records said.
Police also examined Alonzo’s phone and saw that he’d been contacting an “Ashley-Renee” over Snapchat about purchasing marijuana, according to the affidavit.
Middleton told detectives that Alonzo got into her car and paid for the marijuana when Alonzo started asking Hunter about gang affiliation, according to the affidavit. Hunter got out of the car and opened Alonzo’s door. Alonzo got out and pushed Hunter, which caused Hunter to pull out a gun and shoot him, the charging affidavit said.
In addition, Middleton, 25, of Wheatfield, has been charged with assisting a criminal — the criminal assisted committed murder, a level 5 felony, and dealing marijuana, a class A misdemeanor, in connection with the case.
Her next court date is April 14.