On August 14, 2016, 18-year-old Brian Quintana, a male resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, went to the Woodbridge Apartments on Washington Center Road for what he believed would be a marijuana transaction. The meeting, however, had been orchestrated as a setup for a robbery by two acquaintances. While Quintana sat in his vehicle, the encounter escalated violently when the individuals attempted to rob him. A struggle ensued inside the car, during which Quintana was shot in the chest.
He succumbed to his injuries, marking a tragic end to the incident that prosecutors later described as a drug deal gone wrong.
Police investigation quickly identified two suspects involved in the planning and execution of the crime. Kevin Hamilton, who was 17 at the time but charged as an adult, was identified as the individual who pulled the trigger during the altercation. In April 2017, Hamilton faced the legal consequences of his actions in Allen Superior Court. He was convicted and received a 74-year prison sentence for the murder, with the court noting the severity of the robbery that turned deadly. During his sentencing, Hamilton expressed that he did not expect forgiveness from the victim's family but wished he could undo the events of that night.
The second suspect, Devyn Yancey, faced a more complex legal path. Prosecutors alleged that Yancey had helped plan the robbery that led to Quintana's death. He was initially charged with murder and robbery. However, his first trial in early 2020 ended with a mixed verdict; the jury acquitted him of the robbery charge but deadlocked on the murder charge, resulting in a mistrial. Facing the prospect of a retrial, Yancey entered into a plea agreement with prosecutors in August 2020. He pleaded guilty to aggravated battery, a Level 3 felony, leading to the dismissal of the murder charge. He was sentenced to 16 years, though the majority of that time was suspended, resulting in a sentence that included time served and four years of probation.
