Trio convicted of former IU football player's murder sentenced to 100-plus years each
A trio convicted of murdering a former Indiana University football player and robbing multiple people during the 2020 protests and riots in downtown Indianapolis were sentenced Wednesday to a total of hundreds of years in prison.
Marcus Jayon Anderson, Nakeyah Shields and Alijah Jones were each convicted of murder and numerous counts of armed robbery during a jury trial in May. The charges stemmed from a 15-minute crime spree during the 2020 protests and riots in Indianapolis that climaxed with the death of Christopher Beaty, 38, while he was surveilling the neighborhood near his downtown residence.
“I’m bout to walk around the block now to make sure my building is good," Beaty messaged someone over his phone at 11:35 p.m. on May 30, 2020, according to police. His body was located by law enforcement minutes later in the 400 block of North Talbott St.
More: Three people found guilty of murder in death of 'Mr. Indianapolis' during 2020 riots
Marion Superior Judge Shatrese Flowers sentenced Anderson to 164 years imprisonment, Jones to 164 years imprisonment and Shields to 108 years imprisonment during Wednesday's sentencing hearing.
Beaty was a defensive lineman at Indiana University from 2000 to 2003. He returned to his home city of Indianapolis and worked in marketing for nightclubs after he graduated. In an interview with IndyStar, a former business partner called Beaty "Mr. Indianapolis" because of how well-connected he was.
His friends and family said Wednesday he was a benevolent person. They said his death left a massive hole in their lives.
“That night when you decided to (commit) this heinous, senseless act, you hurt somebody that would have truly helped you," Joshua Moore, Beaty's college friend, told the defendants during sentencing.
Beaty's mother, who attended May's trial, died before the sentencing date. Flowers called for a moment of silence in her honor before announcing the sentences.
Prosecutors said during the May trial the three defendants were captured by video cameras at the time of the crimes, and were seen walking on North Talbott St. in the aftermath of Beaty's death. They robbed six people and attempted to rob two more across a city block, deputy prosecutor Anne Frangos said.
Defense attorneys said neither a witness nor a surveillance camera captured what happened to Beaty the moment he was killed. "After Chris Beaty walks down the steps of his building and out of the frame of (the security) camera, everything that happens to him is gone from human knowledge," Kyle Cassidy, Jones' attorney, said at trial.
More: Fatal shooting of 'Mr. Indianapolis' goes to trial, with 2020 unrest playing a key role
Multiple family and friends of Shields asked Flowers for a lenient sentence Wednesday. Her attorney said the evidence presented at trial didn't show she committed the crimes. When it was her time to speak, Shields sobbed as she asked the judge to consider her toddler son when handing down a punishment.
"I am not the person they say I am, or who the jury thinks I am," said Shields, the only defendant who spoke to the court. "I am just a young lady that was at the wrong place at the wrong time.”
But Frangos argued they intentionally went downtown to take advantage of the frantic environment.
“They were not subject to the mayhem and the chaos," Frangos said Wednesday. "They were the mayhem and the chaos that night.”
This article will update.
Contact the reporter at 317-273-3188.
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Trio convicted of killing former IU football player learn sentences
