In the early morning hours of November 9, 2015, a dice game in an Indianapolis home turned deadly, ending the life of 24-year-old Jonte Johnson. The gathering, which started as a casual game among acquaintances, escalated into a violent robbery that resulted in the shooting deaths of Johnson and another man, Thomas Stewart. Two other men were also shot and critically injured during the incident.
The events unfolded when an argument broke out during the dice game.
Three men, later identified as Dontae Shields, David Sanders, and Clarence Sanders, became angry and brandished firearms. They proceeded to rob the other players, stealing money from the game. In the course of the robbery, shots were fired, fatally wounding Jonte Johnson and Thomas Stewart. The assailants then fled the scene.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department quickly launched an investigation. Within days, authorities identified the three suspects. Dontae Shields, then 26, David Sanders, 26, and Clarence Sanders, 52, were each charged with two counts of felony murder, one count of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, and one count of attempted robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. Shields and David Sanders also faced a charge of unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious felon. Shields was apprehended shortly after the charges were filed.
Following the arrests, the case moved to the courts. David Sanders was tried and convicted by a jury on two counts of felony murder for his role in the deaths of Jonte Johnson and Thomas Stewart. He later appealed his conviction, but the details of the appeal's outcome are not readily available in public records. Information regarding the final convictions and sentences for Dontae Shields and Clarence Sanders in connection with this specific case is not clearly detailed in available online sources.
