Authorities: Defendants in Gary shooting pointing fingers at each other

Font Size:

BY CHRISTINE KRALY
ckraly@nwitimes.com
219.662.5335 | Thursday, July 03, 2008 | (21 comment(s))

GARY | Two people charged Wednesday in the Saturday shooting of a 12-year-old Gary girl are blaming each other for the incident, authorities said.

Gary residents John Fitzgerald Johnson, 22, and Keon Alexander Neely, 17, were charged in Lake County Criminal Court with attempted murder, battery and criminal recklessness in the shooting of Arbriana Turner.

Both face a maximum of 50 years in prison if convicted, and bond has been set for $100,000 each, the Lake County prosecutor's office said. The defendants remained in Gary City Jail on Wednesday afternoon.

Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter said given the serious nature of the charges, Neely automatically was charged as an adult.

Arbriana was shot Saturday in front of her house by two people involved in an argument with the girl's next-door neighbor, said Arbriana's stepfather, Ivan Woodard.

Court documents indicate the defendants are blaming each other for the shooting.

In statements made to police, both defendants reportedly said they were walking by a party Saturday near Arbriana's house in the 1000 block of East 36th Place.

Each defendant blames the other for trying to talk to a girl sitting outside of a house on the block, only to be rebuffed by the girl's grandmother because she was too young, court records allege.

Both defendants admit in court documents to shooting a gun into the air after the other yelled an obscenity toward Arbriana and Woodard. But the defendants blame each other for shooting at least three additional times.

Both admit they fled after the shooting to a house on 35th Court, court records state.

Arbriana was hospitalized at the University of Chicago's Comer Children's Hospital after a bullet entered the right side of her face and lodged behind her left eye, her mother, Loretta Tyler, said.

Arbriana remained at the hospital Wednesday and may undergo surgery to remove the bullet next week, Tyler said.

The bullet did not enter her brain, but after speaking with doctors, the girl's parents have said they fear she may lose sight in her right eye.

Back to story 21 comment(s)

Please note: Comments from readers will be screened and may not be posted immediately. If you don't see your comment perhaps:

It wasn't clear, concise or focused on the topic in the story.
It was a personal attack, vulgar, explicit or degrading, used actual or implied profanity or contained potentially libelous statements.
It accused someone of being guilty of a crime.
It promoted violence or illegal acts.
It contained telephone numbers or street addresses, or e-mail addresses and links to Web sites other than nwi.com or government agencies.

In no way do these comments represent the views of The Times or Lee Enterprises.

Passionate views, pointed criticism and critical thinking are welcome. Name-calling, crude and profane language and personal abuse are not welcome.

Reader comments will not be edited - they will be approved or declined. They may be used in the print edition of the newspaper.

If you feel a posted comment has violated these guidelines, please email our New Media team the commenter's name, the comment and a link to the article.

For more information please read our Terms of Service.

So Cal Ron wrote on Jul 7, 2008 12:35 PM:

" Why everyone is asking about where the parents were in all of this is beyond me. Where do you think they are? More often than not, the nut does not fall too far from the tree.

Year old parent said that she looked into the eyes of the younger one (Neely) and that it made her feel almost sad for him. NOT ME!!!!! I look into the eyes of these guys and see two thugs who would kill you in a second and not think twice about it so long they get what they want. IF they look scared now it's only because they got caught. "

year old parent wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:17 PM:

" Looking in the eyes of the younger one pictured makes me feel almost sad for him. I'm not saying he should not be punished for what he did to that poor girl, but what kind of childhood did he have to make him turn out this way? I just don't understand. Where were his parents? What happened to him that made him think that shooting someone is ok? When I look at his eyes in that picture, it just saddens me. He looks like he could be my nephew or just a young innocent kid. I guess looks can be deceiving. "

Squeakers wrote on Jul 3, 2008 7:26 PM:

" Where are the parents of these (kids?). Why is it so easy for youngsters to get their hands on guns these days?. Those kids would have shot anyone,who crossed their path,simply because they had gun power!. I also fill,that parents of underaged children,who have been caught using a gun should face some sort of responsibility. Give them some jail time too!. When my 3 kids were 17 years old,they were at home before the street lights came on,and today they are outstanding citizens. I pray that the little girl has a full recovery. God help the children of today,because if they are tommorow's future?,we are in deep trouble. "

new to gary wrote on Jul 3, 2008 7:21 PM:

" You know parents are not always the blame for wrong decisions that their children make . the more you tell them not to do something the more they do it.
Now a days parents are not being parents they just buy clothes and feed the children shame, shame. "

Melissa wrote on Jul 3, 2008 4:34 PM:

" I feel for this little girl and her family. I hope they can recover emotionally as well as physically! I also hope these two felons spend a great amount of time behind bars!! "

Mickey Finn wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:58 PM:

" How about a report on the parents? What do they do for a living? Are there two parents? Are they married? Do the parents have a rap sheet? Are there drugs in the house? Did the parents graduate from high school? Do they have a diploma? How OLD are the parents? Where were the parents at the time of the crime? "

G Davis wrote on Jul 3, 2008 3:06 PM:

" Nothing is even going to happen, they might and I say MIGHT spend a couple of years in prison but that is it. Every excuse in the book will be used and in the end they will work! After all they are a victim of the system just as much as the gunshot victim according to their lawyer! wait till they start crying. "

kathy wrote on Jul 3, 2008 1:20 PM:

" They BOTH admit to a shot in the air--but blame the other for the other 3 shots?! Does that mean they both had guns? Or one gun that they took turns shooting? No one admits responsibility or remorse. These morons need the stiffest penalty possible. "

PrayGary wrote on Jul 3, 2008 12:08 PM:

" They should be executed. I blame the 2 punks first and foremost, but I also blame the city in which we live for being so corrupt with cash, they claim thats why there isnt anything to do in the city;and thats why the city is crumbling. kids don't have anything to do when they get bored but sit around and think of stupid things like this to do. "

Justice wrote on Jul 3, 2008 11:20 AM:

" Both of these punks were carrying guns for no apparent reason and both of them made the decision to shoot a gun in public over the use of an obscenity. Their decision-making shows that they have no respect for human life. I think that decades in prison is a perfect fit for these two. "

Rocket Scientist wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:40 AM:

" I agree to "agreed" on not blaming the gun. A gun is an inanimate object, a dangerous one, but nevertheless inanimate. It takes a human decision to make it do bad things. "

Not Kids wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:24 AM:

" They are 22 and 17. They are not children. Parents are to blame but at the same time we are talking about one of them being an ADULT! They both should be punished to the MAX! "

Agreed wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:13 AM:

" They so deserve jail... And, again, let's not blame the gun! It's the stupidity of those who get their hands on it (AND their parents').. Obviously, no control AT ALL of either of these kids... They deserve the most severe punishment allowable! "

Too bad wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:12 AM:

" There's no place in our society for filth like this. This victim's life has been permanantly impacted. Lock 'em up...throw away the key. "

victim of crime wrote on Jul 3, 2008 10:04 AM:

" It really is a shame that so many parents are not raising their children to respect other human life. These boys need to go to jail. I know that the victim and her family will rest easier knowing they are off the streets for a while. "

kathy wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:25 AM:

" No plea bargains, please! Maximum sentence for these two. "

jenny wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:14 AM:

" Send them both to jail and the parents as well. "

Jamal wrote on Jul 3, 2008 9:00 AM:

" Lock up the parents as well! "

jenny wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:33 AM:

" u mean the left eye! not the right eye! "

Stephanie wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:21 AM:

" I heard on the news last night both are facing up to fifty years in jail if convicted, and I say good! If these kids are so out of control at this age its probably better for them to spend the rest of their lives locked away where they cant hurt anyone else. "

Nicholas wrote on Jul 3, 2008 8:04 AM:

" What's the dilema here, put them both in jail !!! "

Back to story 21 comment(s)

Post a comment Once your comments are approved, they will appear here.

Marketplace

Sections

Services

Other Publications

Search