Three more face homicide charges in 2020 case
Aug. 9—Three more people face homicide charges in the 2020 beating death of Dwayne French of Terre Haute.
Richard E. Durbin, 45, Jesse J. Hess, 35, and Dwight D. Brown, 32, are charged with murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury, armed robbery, aggravated battery and battery with a deadly weapon.
The Terre Haute Police Department Violent Crimes Unit with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service arrested Durbin and Hess on Saturday without incident, the THPD said.
Brown was already in custody on unrelated charges in the Salt Lake County Jail in Utah. Authorities in Utah are holding him pending extradition.
Last week, Candace Jones, 23, was arrested on murder and other charges in connection with French's death.
All of the defendants are currently or formerly of Terre Haute.
Durbin and Hess appeared in court Monday in Vigo Superior Court Division 3. They were assigned public defenders. Hess will next appear in court Aug. 15; Durbin, on Aug. 18.
Detective Kenneth Murphy filed a probable cause affidavit in which he said Jones signed a waiver agreeing to speak to him. He said Jones told him that on Aug. 21, 2020, she was at the Terre Haute Days Inn with Brown, her boyfriend at the time. She said she was contacted by Jesse Hess, a friend, who asked her if she wanted to help him "do a lick" and he'd pay her $1,500.
"Candace said she told Jesse both her and Dwight would help him," Murphy's affidavit reads. "She said she wasn't sure what lick Jesse had in mind, whether it was breaking into a house or robbing someone, but she was going to help with whatever it was."
Jones said she later learned that Hess was related to French through marriage and therefore knew the victim's schedule and that he carried a lot of cash.
Jones said she contacted Durbin, and he secured a car to take them to French's residence, which was in the 1300 block of Ash Street.
She reportedly told police Hess hit French repeatedly with a baseball bat, even after the victim fell to the ground. French's wallet, which contained $1,500, was taken.
Jones said Hess still had the baseball bat when the four returned to the borrowed car, but she didn't remember who had the wallet, according to the affidavit. She said they drove to Garfield Towers, where they divvied up the money, with Hess taking half.
On the day of the assault, French told police that he had been attacked and that his wallet had been taken, but then he lost consciousness. He was transported to Methodist Hospital in Indianapolis because of the severity of his injuries. He died Sept. 2, 2020.
Earlier, charges had been filed against three other people — a woman and two men — but those charges were dismissed in March of 2021.
No further arrests in the case are expected, police said.
David Kronke can be reached at 812-231-4232 or at david.kronke@tribstar.com.
