Two people are in custody, including one who was injured by gunfire, after Portage Police said a drug deal meet-up early Tuesday at Founders Square went awry; a second person was shot as well.
Officers responded around 12:15 a.m. on Dec. 3 to the 600 block of East Main Street after multiple 911 calls reported shots fired in the area, according to a release from Capt. Rob Maynard, public information officer for the Portage Police Department.
Police found spent 9 mm shell casings in the parking lot behind an apartment complex. In another area of the parking lot, police found several spent .40 caliber shell casings, along with a plastic bag containing approximately 1 ounce of marijuana.
Officers spoke with residents in the area who offered witness statements and video surveillance footage, which provided a suspect and suspect vehicle description, police said.
Police used the Flock Safety license plate reader system to identify a suspect vehicle leaving the city minutes after the shooting. That information was shared with surrounding police agencies and a short time later, the Merrillville Police Department located the suspect vehicle unoccupied in the 5700 block of Grant Street.
Merrillville Police conducted surveillance of the vehicle until a male subject matching the description of the shooter returned, according to the release. Police detained the male and found a 9 mm handgun in his possession.
Police identified the suspect as David K. Johnson Jr., 28, of Gary. Portage Police took custody of Johnson and impounded the vehicle until a search warrant could be obtained.
Meanwhile, operators at the Porter County 911 Communications Center checked with area hospitals to find out if anyone had recently come in claiming gunshot wound injuries. Officers learned that two males had been dropped off at Community Hospital in Munster with gunshot wounds after the shooting was reported.
Portage detectives responded to the hospital and confirmed the two injured men were involved in the shooting at Founders Square.
Police said a Portage woman, 21, arranged to purchase an amount of marijuana from Johnson and agreed to meet him by Founders Square to complete the transaction, even though none of the parties had any connection to the area.
Jontae D. Common, 19, of Chicago, and a second male, 20, also of Chicago, accompanied the woman. During the meet-up, the purchasers failed to pay the agreed-upon amount and fled with the marijuana, prompting Johnson to open fire on them, police said.
Common returned fire with a handgun he had. Common and the other man were both struck by gunfire and sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Johnson has been charged with three counts of attempted murder, a Level 1 felony; two counts of aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony; and three counts of battery by means of a deadly weapon, a Level 5 felony, according to online court records.
He is being held at the Porter County Jail without bond.
Common was taken into custody after receiving medical treatment and has been charged with criminal recklessness with a firearm, a Level 6 felony, and is being held at the Porter County Jail on a $1,500 bond.
Both are scheduled for initial hearings at 9 a.m. Friday before Porter Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Clymer.
The other man required emergency surgery and remains hospitalized. Additional charges and arrests are possible as the investigation continues, police said.
Nobody else was injured. Officers did locate two bullet impacts to nearby apartment buildings but neither penetrated the outer walls into the living spaces.
