A jury convicted a Gary teen of murder and a gun enhancement in a woman’s September 2024 death.
Jaron Starks, Jr., 19, testified Friday he shot Jessica Lipscomb, 36, in self-defense. He argued she came up behind him, she went for his gun and he reacted.
The testimony failed to convince jurors. They had the option to convict him of murder, a lesser charge of reckless homicide, or to acquit.
His sentencing hearing is April 29.
Authorities alleged Lipscomb, who was drunk, belligerent and profane, came over next door to yell at the lawn care crew, including Starks, who were cutting the grass.
In closing arguments, Deputy Prosecutor Paul Namie, with co-counsel Judy Massa, said no matter Lipscomb’s behavior, shooting her once in the chest was unjustified.
“She did not deserve to die,” he told jurors.
Afterwards, Starks ran from the scene, disposed of the gun at his aunt’s house, which police never recovered. After he was arrested, he encouraged his then-girlfriend to lie.
That was a sign of someone trying to cover his tracks, the prosecutor said. Namie argued Starks may have pulled a weapon on Lipscomb, which explained how she knew he was armed. Defense lawyer Jesse Harper later rejected this.
Starks had “18 months to come up with a story” he thought a jury would believe, Namie said.
Harper, with co-counsel Jessica Smithey, told jurors that the police cut corners all over the investigation.
They didn’t speak to several of Lipscomb’s minor children. They didn’t test clothing for gunpowder, which would have shown how close the victim was to the shooter.
The shooting was outside of camera range for around five seconds. During that brief timeframe, prosecutors alleged Starks pulled a gun, threatened, then killed Lipscomb, he said.
Other members of the lawn crew said she was “combative,” or belligerent and cursed them out, Harper said.
Lipscomb was the “reckless” person that day; his client had “seconds to figure out what to do,” he said. Afterwards, “he was an 18-year-old kid and he took off.”
Earlier, during his testimony, Starks said he was helping out his friend cut Lipscomb’s neighbor’s grass, his friend’s client, as a favor.
Starks said he was armed since “Gary is a high crime area,” he worried about equipment getting stolen and had “bad experiences” with stray dogs.
The shooting happened very quickly.
“I didn’t have time to think,” he said. It was an almost split-second “reaction.”
“I’ve never been in this situation before,” he testified later.
After the jury and Starks were ordered to leave the courtroom, Namie argued Starks wasn’t telling the truth, since he had been adjudicated (convicted) as a juvenile a few years earlier for armed robbery.
Harper argued Namie’s argument was a stretch. Judge Gina Jones allowed Namie to question Starks on it. When he returned, after brief questioning, Starks admitted he had been in juvenile court for armed robbery.
Gary Police responded at 5:15 p.m. Sept. 4 to the 1900 block of Noble Street.
The victim, Lipscomb, was found at the crime scene. She was pronounced dead at Methodist Hospitals. One 9 mm bullet casing was found at the scene.
A Ring video showed Lipscomb yelling at two men working on the lawn next door. She walks out of camera view toward one man in a red shirt on a riding mower, while a second man was trimming grass. She is still “heard yelling” when a gunshot is fired, the affidavit states.
The man with the red shirt ran across the street, holding a suspected gun. He got into a white Ford Taurus that took off.
Police traced the car through a license plate reader system to Starks’s girlfriend.
Police found a 9 mm bullet casing inside the car when executing a search warrant. Investigators matched Starks’s BMV photo to the Ring video.
Prosecutors dropped Starks’ misdemeanor marijuana possession and paraphernalia charges.
Post-Tribune archives contributed.
