In a tragic turn of events on a Monday afternoon in Indianapolis, 25-year-old Shainita Nicole Maggie Caffey's life was cut short in a brutal double homicide. On August 5, 2019, Caffey and 26-year-old Miles Cross were discovered with gunshot wounds inside their vehicle near the intersection of Lafayette Road and Tibbs Avenue around 3 p.m. Both were rushed to a local hospital in critical condition but ultimately succumbed to their injuries.
The horrifying moments of the attack were
partially captured on a live phone call, as Caffey was speaking with a utility company. During the call, she could be heard pleading for her life, mentioning that she had a daughter, before being shot multiple times. Witnesses at the scene described seeing a man, later identified as Dwayne Lucas, approach the victims' car from behind and shoot Cross in the head. As Caffey attempted to flee the vehicle, she fell to the ground with her hands up before being shot repeatedly at close range.
An alert witness at the scene was able to write down the license plate of the getaway vehicle, which led investigators to a residence where Lucas was living. Surveillance footage from nearby businesses further implicated Lucas, showing him driving the same car earlier that day and tailing the victims' vehicle just before the shooting. This crucial evidence, combined with eyewitness testimony, cell-phone location data placing him at the scene, and his fingerprints on the victim's car, solidified the case against him.
In the wake of the murders, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department arrested 31-year-old Dwayne Lucas and another suspect, 31-year-old Terrell Redd, for their alleged involvement. Redd was believed to have been the driver of the getaway car. Following a three-day jury trial, Dwayne Lucas was convicted on two counts of murder in July 2021. While the exact motive for the killings was not detailed in court, it was revealed that Lucas had a significant falling out with Miles Cross. For his crimes, Lucas was sentenced to consecutive terms of sixty years in prison for each murder conviction. Terrell Redd's trial was scheduled to take place in September 2021.
