On November 1, 2015, authorities in Gary, Indiana, were called to the scene of what initially appeared to be a traffic accident in the 1300 block of Cleveland Street. Inside a maroon 1995 Cadillac that had crashed into a residential garage, police discovered the unresponsive body of 18-year-old Anfernee Jones, a Black male resident of the city. Upon closer inspection, first responders realized that the young man had suffered multiple gunshot wounds.
He was pronounced dead at the scene by the Lake County Coroner’s Office, transforming the crash investigation into a homicide inquiry.
Detectives quickly traced the registration of the crashed Cadillac to a 51-year-old local man named James E. Adams. When Adams arrived at the police station, he provided a statement detailing the events that led to the shooting. He told investigators that he had driven to the Discount Liquor Store in the 2100 block of West 15th Avenue earlier that evening. According to his account, he left his vehicle unlocked with the engine running while he went inside the establishment. From within the store, he observed an individual entering his car.
Adams admitted to police that he exited the store, drew a handgun, and ran toward the vehicle. He approached the driver's side window and fired his weapon at the person inside. After firing the shots, Adams stated that he walked home and later contacted the police, claiming his cell phone had no service at the time of the incident. During his initial interview, he told detectives that he had seen two males entering his car, but he later recanted this detail, admitting he had lied about a second suspect because he feared going to jail.
Following the investigation, authorities confirmed that Jones was unarmed at the time of the shooting, and no weapons were recovered from the vehicle. Surveillance footage from the liquor store corroborated parts of the timeline, showing Adams running out of the store with a gun before shots were heard. Based on the evidence gathered and his own admissions, James E. Adams was taken into custody and formally charged with murder in connection with the death of the teenager.
