South Bend man arrested in connection with double homicide outside West Side hotel

Greg Swiercz, South Bend Tribune
·2 min read

SOUTH BEND — A South Bend man has been arrested and charged in connection with the Oct. 19 shooting deaths of two men outside the Quality Inn & Suites hotel near the South Bend International Airport.

Reontre Lawrence, 26, has been charged with two counts of murder and a count of a firearms enhancement charge. He was taken into custody Tuesday in Indianapolis and brought back to South Bend. He currently is being held in the St. Joseph County Jail without bond.

From WNDU: Victims identified in shooting at hotel near South Bend Airport; police searching for suspect

Court documents said officers were called to a shooting Oct. 19 outside of the Quality Inn & Suites, 4124 Lincoln Way W., and found Amarion Kirk, 20, and Jasani Taylor, 22, with gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene, officials said.

Investigators with the South Bend Police Department Violent Crimes Unit said in court documents that surveillance video from the hotel showed the victims' vehicle in the parking lot parked near a Chevrolet Trax when a male reportedly got out of the Trax and fired a rifle multiple times into the driver's side of the victims' vehicle. The shooter then ran from the scene, according to court documents.

Investigators found a cellphone in the suspect's car, and a search warrant for the device determined that it and other items there allegedly belonged to Lawrence.

Surveillance video from nearby businesses also found the shooting suspect running toward Beacon Heights apartments. After investigators said they determined that Lawrence allegedly lived in one of the apartments, a search warrant served there also allegedly found clothing consistent with the shooting suspect from the hotel scene.

Lawrence had an initial appearance Wednesday in St. Joseph County Superior Court. If convicted, Lawrence would face 45-65 years in prison for each murder charge and 5-20 years for the firearm enhancement charge.

High school star: Lawrence finds his groove in Riley's win

Lawrence was a standout with the Riley High School boy's basketball team, scoring 1,507 points throughout his career at Riley from 2012-16, according to the Riley sports website.

Email Tribune staff writer Greg Swiercz at gswiercz@sbtinfo.com.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend man charged with murder in deaths of two men outside Quality Inn