On a Saturday afternoon in South Bend, Indiana, the life of 65-year-old Everett Lawrence Harper was brought to a violent end. On October 21, 2017, police were dispatched to the Knights Inn on Lincoln Way West after receiving multiple reports of gunshots. Inside one of the motel rooms, they discovered Harper, who had sustained multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the shooting quickly led to two suspects.
Witnesses reported that four individuals were in the motel room at the time of the incident. An argument reportedly broke out between Harper and 30-year-old Antoine Jefferson. The confrontation escalated, culminating in Jefferson allegedly drawing a handgun and shooting Harper multiple times. Following the shooting, Jefferson and another man, 31-year-old Adrian Evans, fled the scene in a blue-green van.
Later that same night, police located and arrested Adrian Evans. The following afternoon, after an arrest warrant was issued, Antoine Jefferson was also taken into custody. Jefferson was subsequently charged with the murder of Everett Harper. Evans faced a charge of assisting a criminal for his alleged role in helping Jefferson escape the scene of the crime.
According to court documents, a witness told investigators that the argument began because Harper, who was intoxicated, would not be quiet. After his arrest, Jefferson reportedly confessed to a family member that he shot Harper. Evans also allegedly admitted to investigators that he was present during the shooting and drove Jefferson away from the Knights Inn afterward. He stated that Jefferson shot his uncle, Everett Harper, 'at least six to nine times.' An acquaintance of Jefferson's also told police that he had come to her home after the shooting and said he had 'f***** up and shot someone in a hotel room.' Both men were booked into the St. Joseph County Jail and held without bond.
