On a quiet Sunday morning in Indianapolis, the life of a young man was tragically cut short. Raymond Alvarez Jr., an 18-year-old Hispanic male, was fatally shot in the early hours of November 1, 2015. A student at Warren Central High School, he had been visiting family on the city's northeast side. He was sitting in his car in the 3900 block of Trilbey Drive, simply listening to music, when the incident occurred.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers responded to a call about a person shot and found Alvarez in the driver's seat of his vehicle with an apparent gunshot wound. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into the senseless act of violence led authorities to two suspects: Kevin Wilkerson, 23, and Michael Williams, 25. Both men were subsequently arrested and faced charges of murder and robbery. At the time of their arrest for the murder of Alvarez, both Wilkerson and Williams were already incarcerated at the Marion County Jail in connection with a separate robbery case in Lawrence.
The ensuing legal proceedings revealed that the motive behind the shooting was an attempted robbery. During the commission of this crime, Michael Williams fatally shot Raymond Alvarez Jr., while Kevin Wilkerson drove the getaway vehicle. In 2017, a jury found Michael Williams guilty of felony murder and robbery resulting in serious bodily injury. For his crimes, he was sentenced to a total of 87 years in prison, comprising a 75-year sentence for murder and a consecutive 12-year sentence for armed robbery. Kevin Wilkerson, as the co-defendant, also faced charges for his involvement in the incident.
