Three alleged accomplices are in jail and facing charges after a marijuana dealer and his mother were found shot in Lake Station inside an SUV in a robbery setup, documents state.
The alleged shooter, who also pitched the idea to rob a marijuana dealer, is named in court documents but does not appear yet to be charged in public court filings. The Post-Tribune is not naming him until he is formally charged.
The accomplices – Jeremiah Rogers, 22, of Lake Station, his friend Jehad Colvin, 22, of Gary, and the driver Makhia Fraley, 19, of Rensselaer – are each charged with two counts of attempted murder, both Level 1 felonies, two counts of attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, both Level 2 felonies, two counts of attempted armed robbery, both Level 3 felonies, and two counts of aggravated battery, both Level 3 felonies.
Rogers is being held without bond, while Colvin and Fraley are each being held on a $150,000, or $15,000 cash surety bond.
Lake Station Police responded at 9:16 p.m. April 3 after the victim called 911, saying he and his mother were shot. He couldn’t see, he told dispatchers.
A witness later reported a black Dodge Journey hitting a fence on the 3200 block of Minnesota Street. A man yelled for help.
The male victim was found shot in the head, while the passenger, his mother, was shot in the throat and chest, charges state. They were taken to a hospital. Investigators couldn’t talk to either victim at the hospital because they were so badly wounded.
The Dodge Journey’s passenger window was rolled down and its driver’s window was shattered. Cops found a gun under the man in the driver’s seat and a second gun on the passenger side floor. Neither appeared to be fired. There was also a cell phone and a blood-stained bag with a large amount of marijuana inside the vehicle.
A bullet found lodged inside appeared to show shots were fired from the passenger side. A K-9 tracked a sent to the 3200 block of Oregon Street, charges state.
Investigators traced the incident to Rogers. Rogers told a friend he wanted to buy a quarter pound of marijuana and a friend referred him to the victim.
Court records show Rogers’ phone texted the victim on April 3 between 4:40 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. Rogers told the man to meet him at his aunt’s house on the 3200 block of Minnesota Street. It was a vacant house.
Police learned that the alleged shooter wanted to rob a marijuana dealer to make “fast money.” The shooter was messaging the victim on Rogers’ phone. Rogers called Fraley, his child’s mother, to pick him up and the alleged shooter up, saying they were going to buy marijuana, then headed to Gary to pick up Colvin.
Surveillance videos show Fraley’s car parked a block away near Rosser Park on the 3300 block of Oregon Street at 9:05 p.m. The car appeared to speed off at 9:13 p.m.
The shooter, Rogers and Colvin, walked a block over to the victim’s SUV.
The shooter asked to see the marijuana, appeared to grab or lose his grip on the bag, then shot three times into the SUV, court records state.
Rogers ran as the first shot was fired; Colvin and the shooter, who slipped in the mud, followed. Afterwards, they were “shocked” the shooting happened.
“I don’t know. I don’t know,” the shooter claimed when asked why he did it, court records state.
Fraley drove to get gas and dropped them back off in Burns Harbor. The shooter appeared to be “making jokes” and “laughing” afterward, court records state.
mcolias@post-trib.com
