In the late hours of November 27, 2021, a Greenfield man, Jeffrey Herald, age 42, was shot and killed in Indianapolis. The incident occurred in the 5400 block of Pleasant Hill Circle, on the west side of the city. Herald, who owned a mowing business and was a father of four, was found by responding officers inside a car with a gunshot wound to his head.
He was transported to a local hospital where he later died.
The investigation into Herald's death led homicide detectives to two suspects. A witness who was with Herald at the time of the shooting reported that they had gone to the location to deliver marijuana or vape cartridges. According to the witness, shortly after Herald exited their vehicle, he was shot. One of the assailants then approached the passenger side of the car, held a gun to the witness's head, and demanded that the trunk be opened. The witness heard two male voices at the trunk before the suspects fled on foot with a trash bag from the vehicle. Another witness in a nearby apartment heard an argument in the parking lot followed by a 'pop' and saw two men at the trunk of a car and a man on the ground.
Less than a month later, on December 26, 2021, authorities arrested 23-year-old Laseanne Strode at an airport as he was attempting to depart. The second suspect, Tavaris R. Jackson, was arrested and charged in June 2022. Investigators were able to connect the suspects to the crime through a witness who identified Strode from his social media accounts, Strode's phone which was found at the crime scene, and cellphone data that placed both Strode and Jackson at the location during the shooting. Further investigation revealed phone records where Jackson inquired about what police knew about the murder and a witness who heard Jackson planning a robbery.
In the legal proceedings that followed, Laseanne Strode eventually took a plea deal in October 2023, pleading guilty to robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Tavaris R. Jackson went to trial and in April 2024, a Marion County jury found him guilty of two counts of murder and two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Jackson was subsequently sentenced to 70 years in prison.
