Facebook and a gold Oldsmobile: How police tracked teens arrested in quadruple homicide

Four teens have been charged with murder in connection with a shooting at an east-side apartment that left three young men and a young woman dead earlier this month.

According to court documents, Cameron Banks, 19; Desmond Banks, 17; Lesean Watkins, 19; and Rodreice Anderson, 19, are facing multiple counts of murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury for their alleged role in the Feb. 5 shooting.

Desmond Banks, 17, was charged as an adult. He is the younger brother of Cameron Banks.

“I want to applaud the quick action and thoughtful investigatory work of the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, as well as the cooperation and collaboration of community members," Mayor Joe Hogsett said in a statement. "While nothing can bring back the four young people whose lives were cut much too short by senseless violence, these charges serve as a meaningful step toward delivering justice to the impacted families."

The victims of the city's first quadruple killing since 2015 have been identified as Jalen Roberts, 19; Marcel Wills, 20; Braxton Ford, 21; and Kimari Hunt, 21.

To track down the suspects, investigators used a wide range of tools including surveillance footage, social media intelligence, DNA collection and GPS tracking.

But Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the most powerful tool in their arsenal was cooperation from members of the community who provided case-cracking tips.

Mears said the community will be on his mind as he and his team works to hold accountable those believed to be responsible for the slaying.

"You think about the human toll that this type of crime takes on not only the victims, but their families and their friends. And really, it impacts that entire east-side community," he said. "What's encouraging is to see people able to come forward. I think it also demonstrates that the community is not going to tolerate this kind of behavior."

The crime

Court documents said officers responding to a call in the 4100 block of Shady Oak Drive shortly before 10:30 p.m. were told that the back patio door of an apartment in Carriage House East had been “shot up” and two people were seen running from the residence.

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Upon arrival, police observed the shattered glass and entered the rear of the home to find the four victims. They were all pronounced dead at the scene.

The apartment had been ransacked with drawers pulled out and falling from the dressers, police said.

A black safe was found in one of the open closets on the floor with the key sitting on top of it. The safe had been opened and emptied, according to court documents.

Family members told police that there should have been four firearms in the home. A search determined that two firearms were missing.

Police also collected numerous DNA swabs, latent fingerprints and seven cellphones from the apartment.

A witness told police that he was in the apartment shared by Wills and Roberts when three men wearing hoodies arrived, court documents said. The witness said one of the hooded men had a green gun with a green beam, or scope, attached.

The witness said everyone was shooting dice at the apartment with a large amount of money on the floor. One of the men kept entering and exiting the residence while another went back and forth from the bathroom as if he was searching the home, the witness said.

The witness left before anyone was shot, telling police he learned of the incident after leaving the apartment.

The gold Oldsmobile 88

Surveillance footage captured by cameras at the apartment complex showed that the hoodie-wearing men arrived at the apartment in a gold Oldsmobile 88 at 9:54 p.m, police said.

After the vehicle parked, the tail lights remained on, indicating that someone stayed in the driver's seat while the three men enter the apartment.

The person who remained in the vehicle was later identified as Anderson, who served as getaway driver, according to court documents.

At 10:01 p.m., the Oldsmobile pulled out of its parking space and approached 42nd Street, according to court documents. The vehicle remained parked in the parking lot just south of the intersection and waited.

At 10:04 p.m., the three men in hoodies ran from the apartment and got into the Oldsmobile. Court documents said the car pulled out and headed east on 42nd Street at 10:05 p.m.

Shortly after the car left, police received reports of gunshots and a suspicious person in the area from multiple callers. One caller stated they heard what sounded like a door being kicked in.

Police determined that the Oldsmobile was registered to Anderson. The witness who left before the shooting started was able to provide police with the Facebook pages of the men in hoodies.

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Another witness who knew the men was able to identify them as Watkins, Desmond Banks and Cameron Banks.

Social media searches conducted by police also led to the discovery of numerous photos of Anderson and other people holding guns.

Discussions of a robbery

On Feb. 13, police used GPS data obtained through search warrants to locate the vehicle. Anderson was stopped while driving the gold Oldsmobile 88 and taken into custody for questioning.

When asked about the shooting, Anderson told police he had no idea who was in his car that night. He said that only he and his girlfriend drive the vehicle and said it may have been stolen and brought back without him realizing it.

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Anderson then told police he was at his father's house doing laundry at the time of the shooting, court document said. Anderson then told investigators he was done talking.

After a brief break, Anderson re-initiated conversation with police, asking a detective, "so, you aren't going to come back in here and talk to me?" The detective asked Anderson what he wanted to say, and Anderson eventually admitted to driving his car that night, according to court documents.

Anderson told police he picked up "Dez, Sean and Cameron," and admitted that the four teens discussed committing a robbery as they pulled into the apartment complex.

Anderson said Watkins contacted someone inside the home to buy marijuana, and it was decided that Anderson was going to be the getaway driver, court documents said.

Anderson said the three suspects who entered the apartment were all armed. Anderson said he heard "a lot of gunshots" before Watkins and the Banks brothers ran back to the car carrying duffel bags and other items they had not entered the apartment with.

On Feb. 14, after conducting surveillance on the Banks brothers, detectives stopped a Green Ford Explorer in which Cameron Banks was a passenger. Banks was questioned about the murders and immediately responded by saying he was at his mother's home with his brother and mom at the time.

He then stated that he did not wish to speak anymore.

That same day, police took Desmond Banks into custody at his school. Like his brother, Desmond Banks indicated that he was with family and friends at the time of the shooting and did not wish to speak with police further.

Mears said Watkins turned himself in to police Tuesday. His initial hearing was held Wednesday afternoon.

Anderson, Cameron Banks and Desmond Banks will appear in court Thursday.

"It breaks your heart to see four young people who lost their lives over essentially nothing. And on the other side of the table you have individuals who are now charged with multiple counts of murder," Mears said.

"If they are convicted, we're not talking about decades. We’re talking centuries."

Call IndyStar reporter Justin L. Mack at 317-444-6138. Follow him on Twitter: @justinlmack.