19-Year-Old Faces Murder Charge for Fatal Lawrence Shooting in April

LAWRENCE, Ind. — A 19-year-old has been charged with murder and residential entry for an April fatal shooting in Lawrence.

On April 23, at 3:23 a.m., Benjamin Thomas, an officer with the Lawrence Police Department (LPD), was dispatched to the 4500 block of Vernon Avenue on a report of a person shot.

Thomas arrived and came into contact with a male (identified as 19-year-old Jeremy Jett) in the backyard of the residence on a step leading into the residence. Jett made an excited utterance, saying, “It was an accident, it was an accident” during this time. Thomas ordered Jett to get on the ground. Jett complied and was placed in handcuffs by assisting officers. Thomas observed a grey in color Glock-style handgun sitting on a small table near the back entrance to the residence, the same entrance that Jett was sitting next to on officer arrival.

Thomas looked into a nearby shed/garage and observed a male (later identified as Darius Timberlake) slumped near the door to the shed with gunshot wounds to the head and left arm. Timberlake was not moving or breathing. Thomas observed a black in color handgun sitting on a bed near Timberlake.

Lawrence Fire Department (LFD) medics were called to the scene to assess Timberlake. At 3:35 a.m., an LFD medic pronounced Timberlake dead at the scene.

LPD Officer Sean White searched Timberlake’s pockets in an attempt to find identification. During this search, White found a black cylindrical container and a single key in Timberlake’s right front pocket. White placed these items on a nearby nightstand.

Thomas went inside the residence and found an additional male, identified as Z.S., holding an infant. Z.S. said to Thomas that at 3:04 a.m., he got up to use the restroom when he heard two or three gunshots coming from the shed at the backside of the residence. Z.S. said that he texted his sister, identified as S.R., at this time to ask if she was okay.

LPD Officer Justin Rossillo spoke with S.R., who said that at 3 a.m., she was lying on a bed in the shed with Timberlake when Jett (S.R.’s boyfriend) entered the shed holding a handgun under his arm. S.R. said that Timberlake stood up, and he and Jett began arguing. During the argument, Timberlake reached for Jett’s gun while also reaching for his own gun. S.R. said a scuffle between Jett and Timberlake ensued, during which Jett raised a gun and fired two or three shots, striking Timberlake. After the shooting, S.R. and Jett sat inside the shed for five minutes. S.R. said she told Jett to contact police and Jett called 911.

Thomas spoke to M.M. (S.R. and Z.S.’s mother), who said she was sleeping during the incident, and heard and saw nothing. M.M. also indicated that another male (identified as G.B.) was still sleeping in a backroom of the residence.

On April 23, LPD Detective Cory Whaley applied for a search warrant for the residence in the 4500 block of Vernon Avenue, which was granted by Judge Michelle Waymire. Detectives found a cellphone, four 10mm shell casing, and two firearms. Whaley was also granted a search warrant for the DNA, clothing, and photographs of Jett.

Jett said he made several phone calls prior to calling the police and after shooting Timberlake.

While searching the shed converted to a living space that S.R. lives in, a iPhone was found on the bed that was believed to belong to Timberlake.

On April 23, Whaley interviewed S.R. at the Lawrence Police Department. S.R. said that she was in bed laying with Timberlake, and around 3 a.m., her boyfriend Jett came over to her residence unannounced. S.R. said that Timberlake woke her up and Jett was standing in her doorway with his gun under his armpit. S.R. said that Timberlake had his gun on the couch at the end of the bed, plugged in to charge his light and laser. S.R. said that Timberlake got up and grabbed Jett’s gun as he was inside the doorway of her residence.

During the struggle, the gun was fire three or four times, and Timberlake was shot and killed by Jett. S.R. said that she told Jett that he scared her and that she needed to get her mother. S.R. said that it was about 20 or 30 minutes before she and her mother M.M. told Jett to call 911 and get police to come to the residence. S.R. said she was in shock, and she kept going back and forth and didn’t know what to do.

Jett said Timberlake got up, was aggressive, and had his gun in hand, describing the gun as a semi-automatic pistol with a light attached. Jett told Whaley that Timberlake tried to grab the gun from the armpit of Jett. Jett denied having made any aggressive move or having grabbed his gun until Timberlake attempted to take the gun from his armpit. At this time, Jett said he was scared for his safety and pulled the gun down, turned it, and fired what he believed to be around four times. Jett said that as Timberlake was falling to the ground, he also fired his gun, the flash burning the leg of Jett, leaving stippling red marks on Jett’s legs. Whaley observed firearm stippling on Jett’s leg.

Jett said that he took the firearm from Timberlake’s hand and placed it on S.R.’s bed to make sure it didn’t go off again. Jett said that S.R. wanted to get her mother. Jett said they both went and got M.M. Jett made several calls and wrote down his roommate’s number on his arm in case he was arrested. Jett called 911, and after 30 minutes, the police arrived. Jett placed his gray Glock 10mm handgun on the chair outside the residential shed and main residence. When LPD officers arrived, Jett said he laid on the ground and gave up, saying the shooting was an accident.

Jett provided the PIN to his phone. A search of the message in the phone indicated that Jett deals in narcotics. The phone contained various messages to multiple numbers looking for “za” or “grass,” common street names for marijuana. The messages contained information for a location and indicated money was exchanged. There were also several calls and messages sent the after the shooting. Further investigation is ongoing to determine the content and who was contacted.

On April 24, Whaley attended the autopsy of Timberlake by the Marion County Coroner’s Office. During the autopsy, four gunshot wounds were found on the left side of Timberlake’s body. Two entry wounds were found in the left upper arm area. One exited the right neck of Timberlake, and the other bullet was recovered from the right upper shoulder area. One entry was the left ear with an exit of the right side of the neck, and the last entry was the mouth with an exit of the right neck.

On April 24, M.M. text messaged Whaley a screenshot of the Instagram of Jett from his “stories,” showing Jett saying, “Shop finna be closed for a few weeks Got a invstigation going on rn.” S.R. and M.M. also messaged saying that Jett had posted photos of a new firearm on Instagram. Whaley searched Jett’s Instagram account, which depicted an image of Jett holding what appeared to be a short-barreled AR-style rifle.

On April 29, Whaley spoke with M.M., who stated she had learned some new information about the case. M.M. said that she had learned that S.R. was romantically involved with Timberlake, as well as several other men while dating Jett. M.M. also said she had told Jett he was not to come over to her house or the residential shed in which S.R. lived without first asking permission, and to her knowledge, he had followed that request and had not been coming over unannounced until the morning of the shooting. M.M. also said that she saw some social media messages from Jett to S.R. accusing her of cheating in the two weeks leading up to the shooting. M.M. told Whaley that S.R. had changed her story after giving her initial statement and that Jett did not carry his gun but always brought the gun into her residence in his pocket and unloaded the gun prior to bringing it inside.

On April 29, Whaley was able to speak with S.R., who gave a follow-up statement. S.R. said she now remembered more of what happened during the shooting. S.R. admitted to Whaley that she had been romantically involved with Timberlake, but the first time they were physical was on April 23. S.R. also said that Jett had sent her Instagram messages previously, and was often jealous an accused her of cheating. S.R. said that originally, she did sneak Jett into her residence, but after M.M. texted Jett telling him he was not to come over unannounced, she made sure that he never came over unannounced. S.R. said that this was why it was out of the ordinary for Jett to have come over unannounced before the incident.

S.R. said that it was also out of the ordinary for Jeremy Jett to have his gun under his armpit, and that he brings it inside in his pocket. S.R. said that when she woke up, she observed Jett to be upset and he kept saying, “Why are you up next to him?” and saying he had a daughter.

S.R. described Jett reaching under his arm and taking out his handgun, pointing it at Timberlake, at which point Timberlake reached out stretching with his hand for the gun. S.R. said that as Timberlake was close, Jett fired his gun and S.R. said she heard five gunshots, and Jett shot Timberlake in the head.

S.R. said she never saw Timberlake with a gun, nor did she see Jett move the firearm of Timberlake.

S.R. said she is unsure how long she hid under the blanket on her bed, but after she was done hiding, she grabbed the face of Jett and asked him why he did it, and all he kept saying was “Why were you laid up on him?”

S.R. said she told Jett she had to get her mom, and went by herself to get M.M., leaving Jett alone in her residence with the body of Timberlake for an unknown amount of time.

After 30 minutes, Jett was forced by M.M. to put his gun on a chair, call 911, and give himself up. S.R. said that she know she she originally said she thought it was an accident by Jett, but after she thought about it , she doesn’t think it was an accident. She thinks Jett came over, saw Timberlake, and shot him.

S.R. said that Jett and Timberlake were known to each other, having met at least two times for several hours each time.

S.R. told Whaley that Jett had been posting on his original Instagram account, which is what he had messaged her on multiple occasions, but had also opened a new Instagram account, which he used to post about selling marijuana, moonrock, and refurbished goods.

On April 29, Whaley completed an Instagram warrant and served it to Meta Inc. On May 16, Whaley received the Instagram return for both of Jett’s accounts. Under Jett’s original Instagram account, he messaged another user at 1:43 p.m. on the day of the incident, saying “Tre you not the only one who got a b now,” then eight seconds later, messaged “a lont happened last night.” Jett’s friends responded by liking the message and using a party emoji. Within the next minute, Jett responded with a laughing emoji and said “pretty sure I can bat it on self-defense too.”

Whaley knows that suspects will refer to people they have killed as “bodies” or just the letter “b.”

S.R. provided Whaley with her Instagram username. Whaley located this username under Jett’s original Instagram account as a blocked user, which would delete or block any previous messages.

On May 16, S.R. messaged several screenshots to her grandmother of the messages from several days prior from Jett. Within these messages, Jett sent messages to S.R. about her “boy best friend,” who he is upset with her posting on social media and spending time with. This friend is Timberlake. Previously, Jett had told Whaley that he had no prior knowledge of Timberlake.