A Merrillville man was charged with murder in the Wednesday shooting death of a 22-year-old man outside their Portage employer.
Lupe Odell McGee, 20, is in custody and being held in the Porter County Jail without bond. His initial appearance is scheduled for 9 a.m. Monday in Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish’s courtroom.
Around 3:30 a.m. Wednesday, Portage Police responded to a call about a suspicious incident where shots were fired at 6515 Ameriplex Drive, Suite B, according to the probable cause affidavit. Upon arrival, the officer was flagged down by a group in a parking lot on the south side of the Camaco building. A man, later identified as Leland Jenkins of Chesterton, was found unresponsive on the ground, records state. He had suffered a gunshot wound to his throat, and police found five spent shell casings near Jenkins, likely from a large caliber handgun such as a .45.
A witness told police that he didn’t know who the gunman was but the pair were “talking (expletive)” to each other, court records state. The witness said he walked up to them and told them to separate and go home. The witness told police that after the pair separated Jenkins walked back over to McGee’s car, where they resumed their argument and then he heard four shots, the affidavit states. He described McGee’s car as a gray passenger vehicle and thought McGee also worked at Camaco.
The witness said McGee left the scene quickly and he tried to apply pressure to Jenkins’ wounds to stop the bleeding, records state.
Another witness confirmed that Jenkins and McGee both worked at Camaco and the verbal altercation started after they had gotten off work. The second witness tried to serve as a peacemaker but the argument continued and then McGee shot Jenkins, court records. Two witnesses identified McGee from a photo lineup.
Police obtained security footage from Camaco, the affidavit states, which showed that around 4:16 p.m. on Oct. 15, a silver Chevrolet Impala parked in a spot on the southeast side of the building and the driver, who was identified as McGee, walked into the building for his evening shift.
Around 3:29 a.m. on Oct. 16, several individuals are seen congregating around the back of a silver Impala. The passenger side door opens and closes and then five flashes, believed to be muzzle flashes from a gun, are seen on the video, records state. Jenkins was less than 5 feet away at the time of the shooting. McGee then gets back into his car and drives away, court records state.
Later that morning, detectives found McGee at a residence in the 1200 block of W. 62nd Place in Merrillville. A woman believed to be his mother answered the door and said McGee was inside, the affidavit states. She said he was driving his father’s car which was parked inside the garage and matched the description of the vehicle parked at Camaco. Police found a .45 handgun in the vehicle, records state.
An autopsy revealed that Jenkins died from massive blood loss due to being shot in the neck and chest.