In the early hours of a Wednesday morning in Fort Wayne, Indiana, a burst of violence shattered the quiet, leaving two young people dead and another seriously wounded. Among the victims was 23-year-old Brooke Judith Wendel, a manager at Pro-Tow towing service. On February 26, 2020, police were called to a home on Barnhart Avenue around 12:30 a.m., where they discovered three people suffering from gunshot wounds.
Inside the residence, Mon Ong, 21, was pronounced dead at the scene from a
gunshot wound to the chest. Brooke Wendel and another man, Meng Kem, were rushed to a nearby hospital with life-threatening injuries. Wendel, who had been shot in the head, succumbed to her injuries at the hospital. Her death, like Ong's, was ruled a homicide. The third victim, 27-year-old Meng Kem, was shot in the neck and head but survived. The incident was not a random act of violence, but rather a robbery turned deadly, described as a drug deal gone wrong.
The investigation into the triple shooting led to the arrests of three men. Kyaw H. Hlang, 24, Jamesley Paul, 23, and Kerwins Louis, 21, were charged in connection with the murders and robbery. According to the surviving victim, the three men came to his home to rob him of approximately $1,500.
In October 2020, Kyaw H. Hlang pleaded guilty to two counts of felony murder and one count of attempted murder. Under a plea agreement, he faced a sentence not to exceed 100 years. The following year, in September 2021, Kerwins Louis was convicted on five felony counts, including murder, felony murder, and robbery. The legal proceedings for Jamesley Paul also moved forward, with a trial date set.
