In the late hours of a summer night in Indianapolis, a dispute that began inside a bar tragically spilled out into the parking lot, ending the life of 31-year-old David M. Ballinger on August 25, 2018. The altercation, which reportedly started over a woman, escalated into a fatal confrontation outside Bar 52, located near the intersection of English Avenue and South Sherman Drive.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to the scene around 1:20 a.m.
and discovered Ballinger on the ground with gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the Marion County coroner's office later confirmed that he died from a gunshot wound to the chest. The man responsible for the shooting, Derek Whitt, who was 40 years old at the time, remained at the scene until police arrived.
The investigation into Ballinger's death led to the arrest of Whitt, who was initially charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, and unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon. Surveillance footage from the bar captured the events leading up to the shooting, including an initial argument between Ballinger and Whitt's then-fiancée, followed by the physical fight between the two men in the parking lot.
After a lengthy legal process that included delays and a mistrial, a jury found Derek Whitt guilty of voluntary manslaughter in May 2021. The following month, he was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in the death of David Ballinger.
