Douglas Walker

dwalker@muncie.gannett.com

MUNCIE — One Muncie man who fatally shot another near an eastside intersection in April will not face criminal charges.

A report issued this week by the Delaware County prosecutor’s office concluded that the man was acting in self-defense when he fired the gunshots that killed 21-year-old Vincent E. Wolfe II and wounded his cousin, Rondell L. Wolfe II, 25.

A mortally wounded Vincent Wolfe was found in a car parked on Ebright Street, just north of Kirby Avenue, about 5:50 p.m. on April 14. He was pronounced dead on arrival at IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital.

The gunman — not identified by name in Chief Deputy Prosecutor Eric Hoffman’s report, or in earlier police documents — told officers he had been engaged in an ongoing financial dispute with Vincent Wolfe.

The man said he was at a family gathering near Ebright and Kirby when a car driven driven by Vincent Wolfe pulled up, and that Wolfe told the man was tired of dealing with him, and reached for a handgun in the vehicle.

“Fearing that Vincent was going to shoot him, (the gunman) discharged his handgun,” Hoffman wrote.

Rondell Wolfe, a passenger in the car, “then took control of Vincent’s gun,” the prosecutor wrote, prompting the man to fire more gunshots into the car.

“All of the credible evidence indicates that when (the gunman) shot Vincent Wolfe II and Rondell Wolfe, he did so in self-defense,” Hoffman wrote, noting that witnesses to the shootings corroborated the shooter’s account.

“The acts of shooting both Vincent and Rondell Wolfe are legally justifiable,” Hoffman concluded. “Consequently, (the gunman) will not be charged with a criminal offense.”

Forensic evidence reflected the man fired seven gunshots. Three struck Vincent Wolfe, who was apparently wounded in the head and chest. A single bullet hit Rondell Wolfe — who then fled from the scene — in the back.

The prosecutor noted the gunman reported the shootings in a call to 911 dispatchers, and later gave detectives a voluntary statement.

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Hoffman also wrote Rondell Wolfe had “given multiple contradictory and inconsistent statements,” denied removing a handgun from the shooting scene “despite the overwhelming evidence to the contrary,” and had otherwise been “uncooperative” in the investigation.

According to Hoffman’s report, city police determined the gunman, “months or weeks prior to the shooting,” had accepted $500 from Vincent Wolfe.

In exchange, the man was to help Vincent Wolfe secure a job, reportedly at a factory in Madison County. However, an arrest and subsequent criminal charges last spring cost Wolfe that job opportunity, the report said.

The man then declined to return Wolfe’s money, Hoffman wrote. On the afternoon of the shootings, Wolfe had followed the man to an eastside convenience store and again demanded the cash.

Asked why the gunman had not been identified by name in his report, Hoffman said, “Since we’re not going to charge him, I didn’t see any reason to put his name out there formally.”

The shooter had a permit to carry a handgun, Hoffman said.

The chief deputy prosecutor said the findings were based on a review of the Muncie Police Department's "thorough investigation of the events," and the case's physical evidence. Hoffman discussed those findings with a member of Vincent Wolfe’s family on Thursday.

Contact news reporter Douglas Walker at (765) 213-5851. You can also follow him on Twitter: @DouglasWalkerSP.

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