A shooting last week on I-65 near Hobart targeted a man who allegedly tried to kill a woman’s old boyfriend in East Chicago this summer, filings show.
Nathaniel C. Malone, 23, was charged Sunday with two counts of attempted murder.
He is in custody, held on a $10,000 cash bond.
Indiana State Police said in a news release that two men inside a white Tesla were injured. One, Tyreion Jackson, 27, is charged in the East Chicago shooting. He posted a $6,000 cash bond in August.
Malone told investigators he and the woman in the East Chicago shooting were “friends,” the affidavit states.
Indiana State Police responded around 1 p.m. Oct. 6 to I-65 south just north of 61st Avenue.
A witness said a red car pulled up next to a white Tesla before about six shots were fired. Officers showed one man in the Tesla had an Apple Maps app open.
They retraced the victims’ steps to a Planet Fitness, 7929 Indianapolis Blvd., in Hammond.
When police pulled the video footage, it showed two men from the Tesla went inside just before noon. They appeared to have been followed.
Less than a minute later, a red car pulled into the parking lot, drove toward the front briefly, then waited in the parking lot until the Tesla left. It followed the other car out.
Police traced the red Ford Fusion to Malone. License plate readers appeared to show the car had followed the Tesla at least nine different times, filings allege.
Investigators got a search warrant for Malone’s apartment. There, police found two guns, marijuana and other “evidence” they believed showed Malone sold drugs. There was a garbage can with a note for other residents not to touch it.
Inside, police found a 10-mm bullet casing that matched the crime scene.
Jackson’s next hearing is Oct. 24.
Police accused him of opening fire on a man when he went to pick up his child to go to the park. He was calling his ex-girlfriend, the child’s mother, when the gunfire started.
East Chicago officers responded just before 8:30 p.m. July 17 to the 4100 block of Catalpa Street, Detective Daryl Gordon of the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force wrote.
A Ring video showed a beige Mazda rental parked in front of a home. A white Tesla backs up before gunfire is heard. The Mazda backs up before it flees.
Court records state Jackson fled to Texas after the shooting.
