Two South Bend men charged with murder of 12-year-old Josiah Small

SOUTH BEND — An 18-year-old man alleged to have shot and killed 12-year-old Josiah Small has been charged with murder and was arrested Tuesday morning in South Bend.

A 21-year-old accused of being his accomplice was arrested Thursday in Indianapolis and is in jail.

Amarion Cutler, who turned 18 the day after he allegedly shot Josiah in the head on the city's southwest side, is currently being held at the St. Joseph County Jail. Josiah was killed on Oct. 27.

Cutler was apprehended with assistance from the US Marshals Great Lakes Regional Task Force, St. Joseph County Warrants and the South Bend Police Department’s Violent Crimes Unit.

Police claim Cutler was with an accomplice, 21-year-old Nagomba Dawaa White, who police say also fired shots and has been charged with murder. St. Joseph County Prosecutor Ken Cotter announced the charges during a Monday press conference.

Surveillance footage shows Cutler and White driving past a group of four boys, including Josiah, around 9 p.m. near the intersection of Prairie and Indiana avenues.

Two of the other boys had what police would describe only as a "brief interaction" with the vehicle's occupants. Whatever was said led Cutler, who was driving, to make a U-turn and speed toward the four boys.

Both Cutler and White are alleged to have stepped out of the car carrying guns. Police say they fired shots down an alley where the boys fled.

More: Family of 12-year-old Josiah Small struggle as they prepare to bury the South Bend boy

Responding to a ShotSpotter alert, officers found Josiah's body in the 1600 block of South Prairie Avenue with a gunshot wound on his head. Spent shell casings were found on the ground nearby.

A 14-year-old boy, whose name police haven't shared because he's a minor and a victim, was shot in the leg but survived.

The other two victims who interacted with Cutler and White were shot at but seem to have escaped unharmed.

A South Bend resident, White was arrested Thursday in Indianapolis with the help of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitives Task Force. He's being held without bond in the St. Joseph County Jail.

Cutler is also from South Bend and was seen with White after the incident, police say.

Anyone with information about Josiah's death is asked to submit anonymous tips online to Michiana Crime Stoppers or to call 574-288-STOP.

Both men are charged with felonies for murder, conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder and attempted battery by means of a deadly weapon. Cutler faces two additional counts for being the one who's alleged to have killed Josiah.

White is accused with murder because, under Indiana law, prosecutors can file the same charges against alleged murderers and individuals who work in concert with them, according to Cotter.

The prosecutor's office filed charges a week ago, on Nov. 6, Cotter said. But their public release was delayed because police actively sought the two suspects.

"Every murder is senseless to those of us that don't do that," Cotter said. "But gosh darn it, this one just tears at your heart."

Josiah is the 19th person and the fourth child killed by gun violence in South Bend this year. According to South Bend Police Department data, 17 of those are classified as criminally assaulted shootings.

The charges "didn't make me feel any better about the situation," said Erika Small, Josiah's mother, "but it is reassuring that (police) are doing their job and that they care."

Ahead of Josiah's celebration of life Nov. 9, his mother shared with The Tribune that her biggest fear was Josiah "being at the wrong place at the wrong time and something happening to him."

In search of a safer neighborhood, she moved her family to a home near Rum Village earlier this year. Josiah's death occurred mere blocks away.

The day Josiah died was his baby sister's 2nd birthday. A week before, he had turned 12 years old. A football player and a wrestler, he was only months into the 6th grade at Dickinson Fine Arts Academy.

Small, 30, and her family described Josiah as a sweet kid who couldn't stand to hear people talk down on others.

He doted on his baby sister, who recently saw his face on her mother's cellphone and, thinking she had found her lost brother, grabbed it and repeated his name: "Josiah, Josiah."

Email South Bend Tribune city reporter Jordan Smith at JTsmith@gannett.com. Follow him on X: @jordantsmith09

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend police seek help finding alleged killer of 12-year-old boy