Indy Man Arrested After Catfish Leftovers Fight

INDIANAPOLIS — An argument over a day-old meal of catfish and French fries escalated into a fight on the east side of Indianapolis, leaving one man in jail and his roommate in the hospital.

The incident began Friday on North Gray Street, near East Washington and East Tenth streets when IMPD said 30-year-old Davante Payne demanded $10 from his roommate for the leftovers. When the roommate countered that the meal was only worth $3 and attempted to reach out to friends to secure the funds, the argument turned into a brutal physical assault.

Police say Payne “rushed the victim,” eventually kicking them in the head, attacking them with a mini-baseball bat, and shot them. They also say Payne stole two of the roommate’s phones and their keys, claiming he intended to sell the phones to collect payment for the $10 dinner.

IMPD officers discovered Payne was already wearing a GPS monitoring device for a separate case. By Saturday, officers tracked his location to the east side, where they spotted him riding a bicycle near Rural Street with a gun showing from his coat pocket. Although Payne initially appeared to comply with police commands, he began to resist as officers attempted to put him in handcuffs. The struggle ended only after officers tased him and arrested him.

Police say the gun found on Payne was believed to use in the fight over the leftovers.

Payne was taken to the Marion County Jail and faces preliminary charges, including: