On the late evening of March 3, 2020, a ShotSpotter alert and a citizen's report of a man down brought South Bend Police to a home in the 1600 block of North Elmer Street. There, they discovered 19-year-old Alan Diaz-Coria, a male resident of South Bend, lying on the walkway with a gunshot wound to his abdomen. He was rushed to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead.
An autopsy later confirmed that the single gunshot wound was the cause of his death.
The investigation into the shooting of Alan Diaz, a father and a machine operator at Patrick Industries, quickly uncovered a complex series of events that began earlier that day in Cass County, Michigan. Detectives learned that several individuals were involved in a home invasion with shots fired in Michigan just hours before Diaz's death. Ballistic evidence from the Michigan crime scene matched a firearm used in the South Bend homicide, providing a crucial link for investigators. This connection led them to four suspects: Oliver Bwalya, Oluwatomipe Jeremiah Makaniuola, James Edward Birtcher III, and Adonis Zackeydarryl Harris.
According to statements made to investigators, Bwalya, who knew Diaz, had arranged to purchase marijuana from him. Bwalya and his three accomplices traveled to Indiana for the transaction, where they used counterfeit money to pay for the drugs. After the exchange, as Bwalya was returning to the vehicle where his accomplices waited, Diaz reportedly yelled out. At that point, the three accomplices opened fire on Diaz. Ballistic evidence confirmed that multiple firearms were used at the scene. Although he maintained that he never possessed a gun or fired at Diaz, Bwalya identified his three companions to the police.
The legal process that followed resulted in convictions for those involved. In May 2022, a jury found Oliver Bwalya guilty of murder for his role in Alan Diaz's death, and he was subsequently sentenced to 55 years in prison in June of that year. Oluwatomipe Jeremiah Makanjuola pleaded guilty to murder and, in July 2022, was sentenced to 45 years in prison. The cases against James Edward Birtcher III and Adonis Zackeydarryl Harris were also moving through the court system, with trial dates scheduled.
