A pair was charged Thursday in a Hammond shooting stemming from a botched marijuana deal.
Jeremiah Moore, 19, of Hammond, and Jose “Hollow” White, also of Hammond, are each charged with aggravated battery, battery by means of a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness.
Both posted a $5,000 bond Thursday.
Hammond Police responded at 1:35 p.m. Feb. 23 to the 7000 block of Van Buren Avenue for a shots fired call. Nothing was there, Hammond Police Detective James Onohan wrote.
Police found the victim, 19, two blocks east on the 6900 block of Monroe Avenue. He was shot in the face and torso. Nearby, investigators impounded a shot-up, bloodied Nissan Altima. He was taken to the hospital.
White and Moore were quickly arrested.
Investigators found a half-dozen 5.56-caliber rifle casings nearby. A blue Honda SUV was hit by gunfire. They also found spots of blood on the block.
A block north, a home on the 500 block of 169th Street was also struck by gunfire. No one was hurt there.
The victim and White both told officers they were the one getting robbed.
Security footage inside a home on the 7000 block of Van Buren showed White getting a gun from a relative’s room. Around 1:22 p.m., the victim pulled up in a Nissan, then White got in the car.
Within a minute, Moore got out of his Pontiac G6 with an AK-style weapon. His face was covered with a balaclava.
The victim appeared injured and tried to drive off toward Monroe Avenue.
“I blew (him) down,” White tells Moore back inside the home on Van Buren. When his gun jammed, he switched to another weapon. Moore estimated he fired six or seven times, according to court records.
White appeared to say over a FaceTime call that he “knows he is going to jail,” according to the affidavit. He claimed the victim “tried to ‘plug’ him” and he shot him, records state.
White’s relative said the police were nearby. He grabbed a gun and told Moore, “Let’s go.” Moore left an AK-style rifle on a dresser, where police later found it.
The victim told police he was there to buy $150 worth of marijuana from “Hollow,” a.k.a. White. When White hopped in his car, the victim said he declined to buy two guns he was selling.
The victim said he gave White his phone to enter his CashApp account. White said something about “trying to play” him, the affidavit states.
Suddenly, White opened fire. As the victim tried to drive off, White yelled for him to unlock the door. The victim said he hit a parked car while trying to drive away.
The victim was shot in both thighs, his chin and a bullet broke his arm.
White told police he agreed to buy a half-ounce of marijuana from the victim for $65. In the Nissan, he thought the child safety lock was turned on, trapping him there. The victim flashed a gun and demanded “everything,” White said.
He claimed the victim fired into the roof and shot out the window to show he was serious.
Ballistics examiners concluded the Nissan’s trunk and driver’s side bumper were hit by gunfire fired from the outside. The driver’s door was shot from the inside.
There was “no evidence” that anyone from the driver’s side fired into the passenger side, as White claimed, the affidavit states.
Anyone with more information can call Onohan at 219-853-6490.
mcolias@post-trib.com
