SUBJECT: Illicit McCutchanville Gun Sale Ends in Attempted Murder
RELEASE NUMBER: 2016-NR-083
CONTACT: Lt. Noah Robinson
AUTHORITY: Sheriff Dave Wedding
On Thursday, October 27, 2016 at 7:21pm the Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of an armed robbery with shots fired at a residence on Longiron Drive in Eagle Crossing subdivision off Petersburg Road.
Upon arrival, sheriff’s deputies secured the crime scene and spoke to the alleged victim, 18-year-old Blake Alan Will. Mr. Will explained that he was attempting to sell a handgun to 17-year-old Devin Maurice Meriwether when the robbery occurred. Mr. Will met Mr. Meriwether at his residence around 6:00pm to discuss the sale of his 9mm Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun.
Mr. Will alleged that while Mr. Meriweather inspected the firearm he inserted a loaded magazine into the weapon and then pointed the firearm at him. Mr. Meriwether then reportedly ran to his vehicle with the weapon and drove off. Mr. Will initially claimed that Mr. Meriwether fired a shot into the ground near his feet before running off. Mr. Will would later recant that statement and claim that he fired two shots into the air from his 9mm Hi-Point semi-automatic handgun as Mr. Meriwether fled with the stolen 9mm Glock.
A sheriff’s deputy and an Indiana State Police trooper assigned to the U.S. Marshals Service Fugitive Task Force were called in to assist in the investigation. Mr. Meriwether was later located at his residence in the 5000 block of Washington Avenue. Mr. Meriwether’s vehicle was also located and found to have an apparent bullet hole the driver’s side door frame.
A records check of Mr. Will’s Hi-Point handgun revealed the weapon had been reported stolen earlier this summer from an Evansville residence. The 9mm Glock 17 has not yet been recovered.
Both Mr. Blake Will and Mr. Devin Meriwether are currently lodged at the Vanderburgh County Jail.
ARRESTED:
Blake Alan Will, 18, of Evansville. Attempted Murder with a Firearm as a Level 1 Felony, Criminal Recklessness while Armed with a Deadly Weapon as a Level 6 Felony, Provision of a Firearm to a Child as a Level 5 Felony, Theft of a Firearm as a Level 6 Felony.
Devin Maurice Meriwether, 17, of Evansville. Robbery with a Deadly Weapon as a Level 3 Felony, Pointing a Loaded Firearm as a Level 6 Felony.
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The fact that a person has been arrested or charged with a crime is merely an accusation, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in a court of law.