Police arrested a Kokomo man on Thursday who they say is connected to a shooting in the city’s south side earlier this year.
Harron Jamil Burnett Jr., 18, now faces charges of attempted murder (a first-degree felony) and criminal recklessness (a fifth-degree felony) for his alleged role in the case, according to a Kokomo police news release.
On the afternoon of February 28, officers responded to a report of gunfire that had damaged a vehicle and the front of the gas station, responding to a probable cause affidavit filed this week in the case.
Police also stated that both the vehicle and the gas station were occupied at the time of the shooting.
According to court documents, investigators eventually found more than a dozen 9mm shell casings in the area where witnesses said the suspected shooter was located. They were sent to the Indiana State Police for forensic testing.
Police also managed to capture the suspected shooter on surveillance footage. The man who was allegedly shot told police at the time that he had been arguing with Burnett.
Police also investigated two other shootings in March, although the probable cause affidavit does not make it clear whether both cases involved the same man who was allegedly shot in the February incident at the Speedway gas station.
However, in these two incidents in March, police confiscated numerous 9mm cartridge cases and sent them to the ISP laboratory for “comparison purposes.”
And as with the shooting at the Speedway gas station, police say they were able to capture the suspected shooter on video surveillance equipment.
Eventually, the ISP completed its analysis of the 9mm cartridge cases from all three shootings, and investigators found that the casings had all been fired from the same handgun.
Investigators said that gun was also seen on surveillance video during one of those incidents in March, being fired by a man “of the same stature and build” as Burnett, according to court documents.
On June 13, a warrant was issued for Burnett’s arrest and he was taken into custody without incident at a residence in the 200 block of East Harrison Street.
According to police, a search warrant was also issued for the residence, where additional weapons and ammunition were reportedly found. However, investigators did not say whether any of the seized handguns were used in the shooting.
This case remains under investigation and anyone with additional information is asked to contact Captain Bruce Rood at 765-456-7332 or the KPD tip line at 765-456-7017. You can also submit tips anonymously by calling Central Indiana Crime Stoppers at 1-800-262-TIPS, downloading the Kokomo PD mobile app, or texting TIPKPD to 847411.
