On June 28, 2021, the life of a 22-year-old Black male named Justice Kane Wills was tragically cut short in a violent double homicide on the east side of Indianapolis, Indiana. Justice was known by those who loved him as a charismatic and spirited young man who aspired to be a singer and often spoke about taking care of his community. On that fateful summer day, he had agreed to give a ride to his friend, 18-year-old Eric Colvin Jr., who had offered him twenty dollars for the favor.
The two young men traveled together in a 2003 Ford Taurus to an apartment complex located on Woodsmall Drive, just blocks north of Warren Central High School.
Upon arriving at the destination, the situation turned deadly before the vehicle could even be placed in park. Justice and Eric were ambushed in the parking lot, subjected to a barrage of gunfire that left both men dead at the scene. The sudden and brutal nature of the attack suggested premeditation, devastating the families of both victims who were left with few answers and immense grief. For nearly two years, the case remained unsolved, leaving the community and loved ones struggling with the "no-snitch" culture they believed was hindering the investigation.
A significant breakthrough finally came in May 2023, bringing a mix of relief and renewed pain to the grieving families. Investigators identified 33-year-old Lamar Ball as the primary suspect in the double murder. Authorities discovered that Ball had allegedly communicated with at least one of the victims through Snapchat, creating a ruse about purchasing drugs to lure them to the location. Detectives secured an arrest warrant for Ball in October of the previous year, but he had fled the jurisdiction.
The pursuit of the suspect ended across the country when Lamar Ball was apprehended by law enforcement in Los Angeles, California. He was taken into custody to face two counts of murder among other charges, with police describing the killing as a suspected murder-for-hire plot where Ball acted as a hitman. While the arrest provided a long-awaited step toward accountability, the families of Justice Wills and Eric Colvin continued to mourn the senseless loss of two young lives, hopeful that the legal proceedings would finally reveal the full truth behind the ambush.
