In the late hours of a Monday night in Lafayette, Indiana, a tragic and violent sequence of events unfolded, leaving two men dead and a community in shock. Among the deceased was 19-year-old Alberto Eduardo Vanmeter, a male resident of Lafayette. His life was cut short on August 31, 2020, during what authorities have described as a botched armed robbery.
Vanmeter, along with his 17-year-old girlfriend, Jaelynn Billups, had allegedly orchestrated a plan to rob a pizza delivery driver.
They placed a bogus order to lure the driver to an abandoned house. The driver, 37-year-old Joshua Ungersma, arrived with the food and was confronted by Vanmeter, who was armed. In a turn of events, Ungersma, who was legally armed, drew his own firearm and fatally shot Vanmeter in an act of self-defense.
Following the shooting of her boyfriend, Billups, who had been waiting across the street, approached the scene. According to a witness who had come outside after hearing the initial gunshots, Ungersma was initially unharmed and had stated that Vanmeter had tried to rob him. It was then that Billups allegedly shot and killed Ungersma.
When police arrived, they found both Vanmeter and Ungersma deceased at the scene. Billups was found nearby and was taken into custody. She was subsequently charged with two counts of murder, one for the death of Ungersma and another for the death of Vanmeter, under the legal principle that her participation in the armed robbery led to his death. In addition to the murder charges, she faced charges of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, theft, pointing a firearm, and carrying a handgun without a license. Her trial was initially set for February 23, 2021.
