INDIANAPOLIS– Police believe a missing car led to a kidnapping and murder plot on Indy’s east side.
Three people have been accused of murder and police say more arrests may be coming.
Police were first called to a report of a burglary in the 100 block of North Euclid last week. Maintenance men told officers they chased two burglary suspects to a vacant house.
The front door is boarded up, but inside the vacant home, IMPD officers found 28-year-old Corbin Ray Rogers shot to death inside a bedroom last week.
Court records claim at least 5 people were involved in the deadly shooting. So far three suspects have been arrested.
“I would say it’s more sad than anything else,” said Joshua Feilen with Nest Christian Youth Center.
Feilen helps run a youth center right across the street.
Speaking about the homicide this week, Joshua didn’t know what motivated the killing, but an 11-page affidavit now details a kidnapping, extortion and assault that ended in murder.
Police claim Christina Clark believed Rogers stole her car and spotted the victim walking near a gas station on Emerson.
The victim was then driven to a vacant apartment complex on Baltimore Terrace where he was interrogated and beaten.
Court records claim Clark went as far as texting a ransom to the victim’s girlfriend and grandmother.
One video included the victim begging for $5,000.
Additional text messages showed the victim in a car with guns pointed at his head. The suspect allegedly threatened that Rogers would be killed unless his family paid her money for the car.
The affidavit goes on to explain that Josselyn Johnson and Jaheim Miller admitted they witnessed the assault and helped drive the victim to the home on Euclid along with two unnamed suspects where the killing took place.
Police also obtained video showing the victim being assaulted inside Johnson’s SUV, which was later seen on another video camera at the scene on Euclid.
Officers arrested the trio during a traffic stop. Police say drugs were recovered during that traffic stop.
While all three suspects in custody confessed to some level of involvement in the death, all three denied pulling the trigger.
“You don’t have to be the shooter to be charged with murder,” said attorney Jack Crawford.
Attorney Crawford isn’t connected to the case but says people can be charged with murder even if someone else did the shooting.
“If you’re involved with a group of people that shoot and kill someone and you’re an accomplice to that crime, you are chargeable with murder even though you didn’t pull the trigger,” said Crawford.
The three suspects arrested so far are all being held without bond while the investigation continues.
Police did not want to release the booking photos of the suspects because additional arrests could still be made.
