Jury finds 29-year-old guilty of fatal shooting outside liquor store

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Marion County jury on Tuesday convicted a 29-year-old Indianapolis man for the 2023 murder of a 29-year-old man outside a liquor store on the city’s northwest side.

Ja’Que Mason will be sentenced Sept. 5 in Marion Superior Court 28 for the shooting death of Abel Ramos-Utuy just after 1:30 a.m. Oct. 21, 2023, outside the store near the intersection of West 56th Street and Georgetown Road. Ramos-Utuy died a short time later at a hospital.

A news release issued Wednesday from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said that, after the shooting, detectives received a tip from a woman who called 911 with information about the shooting. Upon contacting her, a man indicated that his son might have been involved. This led investigators to Mason, who arrived at the IMPD homicide office with his mother and other witnesses.

Mason told investigators that Ramos-Utuy approached him outside the store, asking if Mason had said something to him. Mason’s friend attempted to deescalate the situation. Mason said that Ramos-Utuy appeared intoxicated and reached behind his back, prompting Mason to fire his weapon. However, no weapon was found on Ramos-Utuy or in his vehicle.

Video footage from the liquor store showed Ramos-Utuy parking next to Mason’s vehicle, entering and exiting the store, and then having a brief conversation with Mason. The footage captured Mason pulling out his handgun and firing at Ramos-Utuy as he turned around and backed toward his vehicle.

Investigators recovered Mason’s Glock and five spent shell casings after receiving consent to search. The magazine for the Glock was found at Mason’s home.

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears, a Democrat, said in a statement in the release, “Tensions are elevated when people fear or believe that everyone is armed. It can turn a simple exchange between strangers into murder in a matter of seconds. Nothing leading up to this tragedy warranted any kind of violence, yet a man is dead and the other will spend the rest of his life in prison as consequence.”

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