ABOVE: Deaundre Graves (left) and Jeffery Rhodes (right)
INDIANAPOLIS (April 2, 2014) – Two teenagers charged in a fatal shooting at a northeast side business appeared in court Wednesday morning.
Deaundre Graves, 18, Indianapolis, is charged with murder, robbery, battery and carrying a handgun without a license. Jeffery Rhodes, 17, is charged with murder and robbery. Indianapolis Metropolitan police said the two were involved in the fatal shooting of a man at the Body Gear store at 38th and Rural on Sunday afternoon. Graves pulled the trigger, police said.
According to investigators, Graves and Rhodes were part of a group that tried to shoplift items from the store. A volunteer worker—36-year-old Ho Lee—tried to stop them from leaving the store. Witnesses said Graves pulled out a gun and shot Lee in the head. A 19-year-old girl was also shot in the leg.
The pair ran out of the store with stolen items, investigators said. Police caught Rhodes shortly after the shooting; he had new clothes with price tags and security tags, according to court documents.
Another officer saw Graves run into a field and gave chase; the officer said Graves pointed the gun at him and then threw it behind him in the grass. He was wearing “merchandise with price tags and security tags still on it from Body Gear,” court documents said.
