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A jury convicted a man of shooting and killing another motorist at an Indianapolis gas station after the two got in an argument over an attempted hit-and-run accident in 2022, according to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office.
The jury convicted Darius Butts on Wednesday after a two-day trial in Marion Superior Court.
According to court documents, Butts murdered victim Desmond Banks at a gas station on East 38th Street just before 11 p.m. on June 9, 2022.
Moments before the shooting, security footage captured Butts attempting to drive an ice cream truck around Banks’ Camaro in the gas station’s parking lot. While attempting to pull around the Camaro, Butts allegedly struck Banks’s vehicle.
Butts is captured on video getting out of the truck to observe the damage but then tries to leave the scene before someone who witnesses the incident stops him, court records state.
Banks can then be seen walking toward Butts and having several conversations with him, seemingly about the damage to the vehicle, according to court documents.
At some point, Butts appears to become agitated and pulls out a firearm. The two continue to talk until Butts begins shooting him.
Even after Banks collapses, Butts continues shooting before going back to his ice cream truck and leaving the scene, according to court documents.
While police were investigating at the gas station, Butts allegedly returned to the scene and told them that he shot Banks. He later said he knew security footage captured the shooting. The murder weapon was located inside his truck, authorities said.
Butts’s sentencing hearing is scheduled for Sept. 10. The sentencing range for murder is 45 to 65 years.
Also on Wednesday, a Marion County jury convicted Michael Coleman of murder and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon in the August 2023 murder of Sunny Gilbert.
According to court documents, police responded to the 3800 block of Hillside Avenue for a shooting on Aug. 19, 2023, in which one person was hit.
At the scene, the 911 caller told police the shooting happened at an auto shop on East 38th Street.
Video footage from the shop captured Coleman talking with Gilbert before pulling out a gun and shooting, according to court documents. Coleman is then seen chasing Gilbert around the shop and parking lot before leaving the scene.
Before being transported to the hospital, Gilbert was able to tell police that Coleman shot him. He later died from his injuries at the hospital.
Coleman will be sentenced on Aug. 22 in Marion Superior Court. The sentencing range for murder is 45 to 65 years. The maximum sentence for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon is 12 years.
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