On the night of February 6, 2020, a confrontation in a Walmart parking lot in Muncie, Indiana, tragically cut short the life of 24-year-old Chase Allen Woolums. The young man was fatally shot in an encounter that stemmed from a bitter dispute. Woolums, a 2014 graduate of Daleville High School who worked for a tree trimming service, was married to Jasmine Wallace Woolums.
The conflict that led to Woolums's death centered around Justin Ryan Bennett, a 31-year-old man from nearby Yorktown.
Bennett was the ex-boyfriend of a woman Woolums was dating, and he was reportedly angered by Woolums spending time with his son. In the days leading up to the fatal shooting, the situation escalated through text messages, with Bennett allegedly threatening that Woolums 'would not leave the altercation alive.' The two men had agreed to meet and fight in the Walmart parking lot on East 29th Street on that Thursday evening.
When the two met, Woolums approached Bennett's Dodge Dakota pickup truck armed with a tire iron. Bennett, who was in the driver's seat, fired multiple shots from a silver handgun. Witnesses reported hearing at least three gunshots and seeing Bennett's arm extending from his vehicle. Woolums was struck by the gunfire as he tried to run away. He was rushed to IU Health Ball Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead upon arrival.
Following the shooting, Bennett and a female companion, Hayle Tristan West, fled the scene, leading police on a chase through the south side of Muncie. After they were apprehended, Bennett was arrested and faced preliminary charges including murder, resisting law enforcement, and being a serious violent felon in possession of a firearm. During questioning, he admitted to shooting at Woolums but claimed he did not intend to kill him. He also led investigators to the location of the handgun used in the shooting. West was also arrested on an obstruction charge. Bennett's case proceeded to trial, where he was ultimately convicted of murder by a jury. He later appealed the conviction.
