In the early morning hours of October 19, 2019, 36-year-old Black male Joshua Lamot Flinn was at a Phillips 66 gas station located on North Lafayette Boulevard in South Bend, Indiana. While inside the convenience store, Flinn became involved in a verbal altercation with another patron. Surveillance footage from the establishment captured the interaction, which witnesses later described to investigators.
The dispute appeared to escalate, prompting the other individual to leave the store while Flinn remained inside.
The man involved in the argument, later identified as Raymond Dotson Jr., did not leave the premises but instead waited outside the gas station for Flinn to emerge. When Flinn eventually exited the store, Dotson opened fire, striking him multiple times. South Bend Police officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert reporting gunfire at the location just before 2:00 a.m. Upon their arrival, they discovered Flinn suffering from gunshot wounds. Despite life-saving efforts, he was pronounced dead at the scene. During the subsequent investigation, officers recovered an airsoft toy gun from Flinn’s waistband, which was noted in police reports but was not a functional firearm.
Investigators quickly released surveillance images of the suspect and his companion to the public. Shortly after the release of these photos, the man seen with Dotson at the store contacted the authorities. He identified Dotson as the shooter and provided a statement detailing the events leading up to the murder. He explained that he had urged Dotson to leave the store after the argument, but Dotson had chosen to wait outside to confront Flinn. Following this identification and the issuance of an arrest warrant, Dotson turned himself in to the St. Joseph County Jail.
Raymond Dotson Jr. was charged with murder in connection with Flinn's death. As the legal case progressed, Dotson eventually entered a guilty plea as part of a plea agreement with prosecutors. The court accepted his plea, and he was scheduled for sentencing in December 2020. Flinn was remembered by his family, including his four children, as a loving father who had aspirations of becoming an actor and had been working to rebuild his life prior to the shooting.
