INDIANAPOLIS — Four men were arrested on drug and gun charges over the weekend while police were monitoring an Indy apartment complex amidst threats of a teen homicide victim’s family and funeral being shot up.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department crews made the arrests on Saturday morning while surveilling the Blackburn Terrace apartments on the city’s near northeast side. At the time, IMPD was also monitoring a funeral being held for Devin Gilbert III on E. 36th St.

Gilbert, 15, was shot to death earlier this month in a parking lot near KIPP Indy Legacy High School where he was a student, allegedly by another teen who fled on foot and was found a few blocks away. Students who spoke to FOX59/CBS4 said a fight inside KIPP preceded the shooting.

According to IMPD, Gilbert’s mother told officers she’d received active threats to shoot up her family’s home and her son’s funeral. As a result, both uniformed and undercover officers responded to the area to monitor the threats.

Police reports show that around 9:50 a.m., an IMPD officer monitoring cameras at Blackburn Terrace saw a gold GMC Terrain park near the Gilbert family’s apartment. The officer reportedly saw five men standing around, wearing all black and handling guns, before getting in the car.

The officer on the cameras said he recognized one of the men in the car as 22-year-old Twyce Smith, who IMPD knew was a prohibited person not allowed to carry guns due to felony convictions.

An IMPD squad car followed the GMC and eventually observed the car allegedly driving 40 mph in a 35 mph zone. A traffic stop was initiated and the GMC was pulled over in the 3600 block of N. Layman Avenue.

Court documents say officers got the driver, later identified as 28-year-old Jalien White, out of the car and handcuffed him. In total, IMPD said five people inside the car were handcuffed and four were determined to not be allowed to carry guns.

Officers searched the car and reportedly found:

  • 29 blue M30 pills,
  • a machine gun conversion device,
  • a 9mm Ruger loaded with nine live rounds,
  • an Honor Guard 9mm loaded with eight live rounds,
  • a Glock 31 .357 caliber loaded with 23 live rounds,
  • a Millsport multi-cal rifle loaded with 40 live rounds, and
  • a black Glock 21 .45 cal loaded with 14 live rounds.

IMPD also collected a blue straw cut in half, which is commonly associated with narcotics use, in White’s pocket and 2.36 grams of marijuana inside 19-year-old passenger Jaziah Seay’s jacket pocket. Photos of the seized evidence, provided by IMPD, can be seen below:

While one of the passengers in the car was released, Smith, White, Seay and 19-year-old Jay-Keyce Johnson were driven to IMPD headquarters for interviews.

While speaking with officers, White reportedly told IMPD that he was driving the car after picking up some friends at Blackburn Terrace so they could offer “protection” at Gilbert’s funeral.

“[IMPD Detective] Rand asked Mr. White why they had so many guns in the car. Mr. White stated for protection,” court docs read. “Det. Rand asked about protection from what? Mr. White stated that Mr. Gilbert’s mother told them there was a threat that the funeral was going to be shot up.”

During this interaction, White allegedly told an officer that he would “cop to” the guns in the car if they dropped the pills. However, he later denied any knowledge of the guns during his interview.

While Smith did later speak with IMPD about the traffic stop, he denied having any knowledge of the firearms in the car. This, police said, is despite the fact surveillance video showed him entering the car with a gun hanging from the right side of his pants.

Despite attempts by IMPD, both Johnson and Seay refused to speak and requested attorneys.

As a result of IMPD’s investigation, Smith, White, Johnson and Seay were all arrested and taken to the Adult Intake Center. Their cases, IMPD said, will now be forwarded to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.

“IMPD would like to thank the community for reporting potential violence,” the department said in a Facebook post. “Outstanding work by everyone involved.”