Devoted father murdered after arranging to buy iPad from Craigslist stranger as a Christmas present

Tragedy: Jim Vester was shot dead after he traveled to a notoriously tough neighborhood to buy an iPad as a Christmas present last week

An Iraq veteran who thought he was buying an iPad as a Christmas present after responding to a Craigslist posting, has been shot dead in an Indianapolis parking lot by the fake sellers.



New-dad Jim Vester, 32, was lured to an address on Wednesday in the west side of the city and brothers Tyron Kincade, 19, and Tyshaune Kincade, 18, have been arrested after Vester was shot dead leaving behind his one-year-old son, Gavin and wife, Jamie.



In the wake of the senseless murder, nearly 1,500 people have donated $58,000 to a YouCaring.com fundraiser set up by Vester's family for the man described as a 'great cook, loving father and faithful man.'



'He would drop everything and cross town to help you and your family,' friend Master Sgt. Jerry Wurm said.



Vester was a career military man, with 12 years of service in the Indiana National Guard, including a year-long tour of duty in Iraq in 2006.



'I was (always) telling young soldiers that never had Jim’s food, I said, ‘Hey if Jim’s cooking, you better show up because it’s good and you won’t be disappointed,’ Wurm said.



Tyron Kincade, 19, and Tyshaune Kincade, 18, both of Indianapolis, are being held without bond in the Marion County Jail on charges of murder and robbery.

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Devastated: Wife, Jamie, (pictured with Jim and son Gavin), said: 'I am so happy his story has (gone) viral so maybe people will think twice about trying to run a scam/robbery/murder through Craigslist or any other site'

Death: Jim was an Iraq veteran and his family are devastated by the death of the popular National Guard serviceman



The veteran Indiana Army guardsman was shot dead during a 4 pm robbery on Wednesday after traveling to pick up the iPad.

His distraught family said that Vester had recently started a new job as a military mechanic and expressed their shock over his death.



'He knew it wasn’t the best neighborhood, that’s why he went in the middle of the afternoon,' said family friend Sarah Hill. 'He was being careful.'

Scene: This is the parking lot where Jim Vester was shot dead on Wednesday while attempting to buy an iPad

Kincade was taken into custody by police at around 7 pm after a traffic stop at the 7500 block of Pendleton Pike according to Indianapolis police.



'He wanted to be a good husband and father his entire life,' Hill said to the Indianapolis Star.



'Jim is one of those guys who is just a really genuinely good guy who loved being a dad.'



Vester graduated from Yorktown High School in Delaware County in 2000 and was a sergeant first class in the Indiana Army National Guard, serving a one-year tour in Iraq starting in June 2005.

