Court records: Vehicle mix-up prompted January shooting at Castleton Square Mall
A mix-up in the Castleton Square Mall parking lot, involving two nearly identical cars, led to a deadly shooting in January, according to court documents.
Michael Mason Jr., 16, was killed in the shooting outside the mall on Jan. 3 around 8 p.m. His 21-year-old friend was shot three times in the leg but survived.
Clyde Michael Johnson, 19, admitted to the shooting that night but told police he was afraid he was being robbed, according to a probable cause affidavit for Johnson’s arrest.
Police took Johnson into custody after he stated he was the shooter but then released him as the investigation continued, according to the affidavit.
Thursday, though, Johnson was arrested in connection with the shooting. He faces charges of voluntary manslaughter, aggravated battery and battery by means of a deadly weapon, court records show.
On the night of the shooting, Mason and his friend, who is not being identified due to IndyStar crime reporting policies, drove to the mall in a white Chevrolet Impala. Upon leaving the mall, in what a witness described as a "jovial mood," they returned to a nearly identical car, not realizing it wasn't theirs, according to the affidavit.
Johnson told investigators he was sitting in the back seat of that car, a friend’s white Chevrolet Impala looking at his phone while his friends shopped inside the mall.
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By the time Mason and his friend realized it was the wrong car, a man in the backseat of the car had fired six shots at Mason, Mason’s friend told investigators.
The friend saw Mason fall to the ground then ran away, tripped and tried to hide in a bush. Johnson pursued Mason’s friend and shot him.
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“(Mason’s friend) told the shooter that he attempted to enter the wrong car,” the affidavit reads. “(Mason’s friend) pretended to be dead, and the shooter returned to the original crime scene.”
Officers found two injured people in the mall’s south parking lot, just outside of the H&M clothing store after the shooting. They also found six fired cartridge cases in the parking lot near where Mason was shot.
A witness, who helped give CPR to Mason after the shooting, told police that Johnson said he didn’t mean to shoot anyone but thought he was going to be robbed.
Johnson told investigators he chased after Mason’s friend then shot him to make sure he didn’t get away before police could arrive.
“If I was to let them get away, they would return and finish me off,” Johnson told police in the affidavit for his arrest.
Johnson said he was afraid of being robbed or attacked because he was a witness in an unrelated November 2022 homicide case and felt he was “being hunted," according to the affidavit. In December, an armed man allegedly loitered outside a home where Johnson was, the affidavit states.
In January, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears recused himself from the case, citing a conflict of interest, according to court documents. Deputy Prosecutor Matt Savage from Madison County agreed to serve as the special prosecutor in this case.
In February, another shooting occurred at the Castleton Square Mall. One man was injured in the exchange of gunfire during that shooting.
Contact Jake Allen at jake.allen@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @Jake_Allen19.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Man, 19, arrested in January shooting at Castleton Square Mall
