City of Carmel-owned security cameras helped police identify and track the movements of two suspects accused of firing multiple gunshots along Westfield Boulevard in the early hours of Oct. 6.
Carmel police arrested Dustin Barger, 21, and Nathaniel Howell, 22, both of Indianapolis, later the same day of the incident. Both have been charged with criminal recklessness committed with a deadly weapon, a felony that in Indiana can carry jail time between six months and 2 1/2 years.
According to a probable cause affidavit, investigators discovered 33 spent shell casings, a mixture of 9 mm and .22 caliber, spread along Westfield Boulevard between Creekside Lane West to Pine Valley Drive (roughly the 11500 to 11200 block). One bullet went through a window in an unoccupied home and set off a security alarm.
Police initially responded to the area after receiving a report of “shots fired” at 1:37 a.m. Within the next few minutes, they received three more reports of gunshots in the area, the affidavit states.
A nearby city-owned camera with a license plate reader showed a black Ford Focus registered to Barger traveling southbound on Westfield Boulevard near 111th Street at 1:37 a.m. Another camera captured the same car heading south on Westfield Boulevard at 96th Street three minutes later, according to the affidavit.
It also states that police discovered footage from another city-owned camera at 116th Street and Westfield Boulevard that showed the same vehicle traveling eastbound on 116th Street and making a stop at the Speedway gas station at the intersection. Surveillance video from Speedway showed two occupants entering the store, including one who appeared to be Barger. They left the gas station at approximately 1:35 a.m., heading south on Westfield Boulevard.
Police searched social media and found a Facebook profile with a photo of Barger holding two guns across his chest that used the types of bullets matching those found along Westfield Boulevard, the affidavit states.
Detectives with the Carmel Police Dept. observed Barger’s vehicle in Marion County on the afternoon of Oct. 6. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers conducted a traffic stop and detained two occupants of the vehicle, including Howell, who was armed with a 9 mm gun. Barger was not in the vehicle.
The affidavit states that Howell admitted to police during an interview that he and Barger fired the rounds from a moving vehicle along Westfield Boulevard early that morning.
Police arrested Barger near his apartment later the same day. He initially denied involvement in the incident but later admitted he had fired the .22 caliber gun out the driver’s side window of the moving vehicle. Police discovered the firearm in a coat closet in his apartment, according to the affidavit.
A jury trial for Barger and Howell is scheduled for April 17, 2024, in Hamilton County Superior Court 6.
