In a tragic turn of events on the evening of May 3, 2021, Emanuel L. Fonville, a 20-year-old Black male from Avon, Indiana, was fatally shot in a parking lot in Brownsburg. The incident occurred at approximately 5:23 p.m. near a Kroger construction site on North Green Street, where Fonville had arranged to meet two individuals. Fonville, a graduate of Ben Davis University who was studying business with aspirations in accounting and photography, was accompanied by a woman in his vehicle at the
time of the shooting.
The meeting, which was set up for a supposed narcotics sale, quickly escalated into a robbery. Two men, later identified as 18-year-old Marques Deon Hardiman and 17-year-old Christian Edmon, approached Fonville's car. An altercation ensued over a bag of marijuana, during which Hardiman pulled out a handgun and shot Fonville in the chest. The two assailants then fled the scene in a silver four-door car. Fonville was transported to a local hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The female passenger in Fonville's car was not physically harmed during the incident.
An investigation was immediately launched by the Brownsburg Police Department. Through witness statements and evidence gathered at the scene, including the license plate number of the suspects' vehicle noted by a bystander, authorities were quickly able to identify Hardiman and Edmon. Both suspects were arrested on May 6, 2021, and subsequently charged with murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Despite his age, Edmon was charged as an adult.
The legal process moved forward, and in October 2022, Marques Deon Hardiman was found guilty on all charges after a four-day trial. He was sentenced to 63 years in prison. The case against Christian Edmon is also proceeding through the adult court system. The investigation revealed that the two had planned the robbery via text messages prior to meeting with Fonville.
