Teenage robber sentenced for 2020 holdup and shooting of 15-year-old

LAFAYETTE, Ind. — Gerald Bell learned just one week before his 19th birthday that he is heading to prison for more than a decade for robbing and shooting a teenager in March 2020.

Bell and Jeremiah Hendricks — both 16 at the time of their crimes — tried to rob a 15-year-old boy in the 3200 block of South Ninth Street on March 3, 2020. When the boy tried to drive away from his attackers, they shot at his car, and one bullet struck the boy in the arm, according to prosecutors.

Jurors convicted Bell of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, pointing a firearm, carrying a handgun without a license and a firearm sentence-enhancing charge, according to prosecutors.

On Friday, Tippecanoe Superior 1 Judge Randy William sentenced Bell to 16 years at an Indiana prison, according to prosecutors.

Bell will have to serve 75% of that sentence — 12 years — before he can be released. With credit for his pretrial detention since March 2020, Bell will be released in fewer than 10 years.

When he's released, Bell will serve four years on probation.

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Hendricks was convicted of attempted murder, carrying a handgun without a license, pointing a firearm and a sentence enhancing conviction of using a firearm in a crime. He was sentenced to 25 years in prison in November.

With credit for good behavior and pretrial detention, Hendricks has about 16 years left on that sentence.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Teenage robber sentenced for 2020 holdup and shooting of 15-year-old