On July 17, 2015, a property owner and fishermen discovered the decomposing remains of two individuals in a heavily wooded area near the 7000 block of Grand Boulevard in Hobart, Indiana. The discovery launched a homicide investigation that would eventually uncover a brutal plot of revenge and kidnapping. The victims were identified through dental records as two brothers from Gary, Indiana, who had been reported missing by their mother weeks earlier on July 6.
Among them was 16-year-old male Antonio Lackey, who, along with his 18-year-old brother Arreon, had vanished after last being seen at a hotel in Merrillville, Indiana, in late June.
The investigation revealed that the brothers were the victims of a targeted abduction fueled by a dispute over a stolen firearm. According to court records and police reports, the conflict arose when members of a local family believed the older brother, Arreon, had taken and sold a handgun belonging to them. On or around June 26, 2015, a group of seven individuals confronted the brothers at a Knights Inn in Merrillville. The siblings were separated, forced into two different vehicles, and driven to the secluded location in Hobart. Once there, they were marched into the woods and ordered to their knees. In a chilling final moment described by prosecutors, the brothers were told to hug each other before being shot in the head execution-style.
Police utilized surveillance footage from the hotel and phone records to link seven suspects to the crime, all of whom were eventually charged in connection with the murders and kidnappings. The group included three generations of one family: the grandfather David Johnson III, his son David Johnson IV and grandsons David Johnson V and Aarion Greenwood. Other accomplices included Kiontay Cason, Michelle Hughes, and Jeri Latoya Woods, the wife of David Johnson IV. Authorities alleged that while the entire group participated in the kidnapping, it was Jeri Woods who pulled the trigger, shooting both teenagers.
Following the arrests, the legal proceedings resulted in significant sentences for the ringleaders. Jeri Latoya Woods was convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of kidnapping, receiving a 120-year prison sentence for her role as the executioner. David Johnson IV, identified as the leader who orchestrated the abduction to recover his missing gun, was convicted on similar charges and sentenced to 190 years in prison. Other co-defendants, including Kiontay Cason and Aarion Greenwood, accepted plea deals requiring them to testify against the others, providing the critical details that pieced together the brothers' final moments.
