Jamion Martin

On the evening of August 22, 2024, an off-duty firefighter at the Arbors of Southtown apartment complex in Fort Wayne, Indiana, heard gunshots and called 911. Police responded to the 7900 block of Decatur Road and found Jamion Martin, a 29-year-old Black male from Chicago, inside an apartment with multiple gunshot wounds. Medics pronounced him dead at the scene, and the Allen County Coroner’s Office later ruled his death a homicide.

Investigators learned the shooting may have been an act of retaliation. Three days earlier, Martin had allegedly assaulted a man named Dwayne Sims, whom he knew as “Uncle Cubby.” The dispute reportedly began after Martin accused Sims of stealing money from the resident of the apartment where the shooting later occurred. Sims had filed a police report about the assault.

The investigation led police to identify two suspects: 63-year-old Dwayne Sims and 34-year-old Gregory Maye Lovelady. Security camera footage showed two men, believed to be Sims and Lovelady, entering the apartment just before the shooting and leaving shortly after. A witness reported seeing one of the men, identified as Sims, walk in with a gun and shoot Martin twice. On September 18, 2024, police arrested Sims in the same area and charged him with murder. Lovelady was charged with murder on November 8, while he was already in jail on an unrelated drug charge.

Lovelady admitted to police that he was at the apartment with Sims that night, claiming their purpose was to sell cocaine. He stated they were invited inside and that he was not armed and did not shoot Martin. Lovelady also confirmed that after the shooting, he drove Sims to Chicago.

Both men eventually accepted plea agreements. In May 2025, Lovelady pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in exchange for the dismissal of his felony murder charge. In April 2026, Sims pleaded guilty but mentally ill to voluntary manslaughter and a firearm sentencing enhancement, which also resulted in his murder charge being dismissed.

On April 10, 2026, a judge sentenced Gregory Lovelady to 12 years in prison for his role in the killing. As part of his own plea deal, Dwayne Sims faced a required minimum sentence of 20 years in prison and was scheduled to be sentenced in June 2026. As of April 2026, both men had been convicted in connection with Jamion Martin’s death.