Authorities said an argument in a Gary nightclub over a dropped tequila bottle spiraled into a deadly gunfight in the parking lot.
Roy “Pookie” Smart, 44, was charged Wednesday with murder in the Jan. 14, 2022, shooting death of La’Montrell McFarland, 42, of Gary.
Gary Police responded around 5 a.m. to Dannie’s Events & More, 2427 Broadway Ave.
Officers found McFarland lying dead in the parking lot. A forensic pathologist from the Lake County Coroner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.
He survived a shot to the head before he was fatally shot in the chest from a distance.
Police found a gun under McFarland’s body. They recovered around 15 shell casings from a mix of three guns at the scene.
One 10-mm casing was linked to a different shooting.
McFarland’s relative told police they recorded a conversation with the person with McFarland that night.
The witness said they just met McFarland. McFarland and Smart got into an argument, starting after McFarland dropped a tequila bottle.
Smart was at the club with “Tay” and a third man.
During an argument, a man told McFarland that Smart was one of “his people.”
Smart “put on a black mask” on his way out of the club. McFarland and “Tay” were also armed. Smart left first, then McFarland, followed by two other men.
The witness said they saw Smart holding a gun, but didn’t see who fired first. They guessed it was Smart since he had to unlock the safety and McFarland’s gun didn’t have one.
They picked Smart from a photo lineup.
Hobart Police Assistant Chief Nick Wardrip, who investigated the cold case, interviewed Smart at an Illinois federal prison.
Smart said he was there, but not involved. He didn’t see McFarland “arguing with anyone,” the affidavit states. McFarland was “probably a little drunk,” according to documents.
When pressed, he denied shooting McFarland, seeing McFarland with a gun, or getting hurt that night. He left with the crowd and got into a white Pontiac.
The security video didn’t show that vehicle.
Smart’s phone put him at the club between 1:22 a.m. and 4:57 a.m.
“I got hit in the face, (grazed) in the chest and hit in the arm and just getting out of the hospital,” Smart texted Feb. 1 with pictures of his injuries.
Wardrip alleged McFarland fired back at Smart after he was wounded.
mcolias@post-trib.com
