Murder case against teen dismissed for now, but could be refiled

FORT WAYNE, Ind. ---The freedom bell rang for a 17-year-old charged with murder the day before fireworks took over the city of Fort Wayne.

A murder charge against Josiyah T. Derrick was dismissed July 3. He'd been charged with murder a few days after the June 23 homicide of Eriyn White, 20, of Fort Wayne

The investigation focused on shell casings found at the scene that were a match to a gun recovered in the trunk of a 2008 red Chevy Cobalt Derrick was driving the night of a party at Tillman Park.

For further reading:

https://www.theprobablecause.com/post/shell-casings-and-a-gun-in-the-trunk-quickly-lead-cops-to-a-teenage-arrest

Derrick was allegedly beefing over a girl, one of several reasons teenagers with guns get into these deadly encounters.

Josiyah T. Derrick

Cries of ‘whatever happened to good old fist fights’ are useless in the face of stolen, borrowed, gifted and handmade firearms.

On July 3, the Allen County Prosecutor filed a motion under the name of Chief Counsel Tesa Helge to dismiss the case without prejudice because “results received from the Indiana State Police Laboratory today have revealed new evidence that needs further investigation.

“Therefore, a dismissal of these charges is in the best interest of justice at this time.”

The motion does not mean the case has gone away for young Derrick. “Without prejudice” means that while this case is closed, the state has another chance to file another case.

Derrick was waived into adult court almost immediately after the homicide. Other bullets wounded a second unidentified victim who may have been the intended target, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Brian Martin, a veteran homicide detective with the Fort Wayne Police Department.

Right now, it's unclear who fired a second gun, but Derrick did allegedly tell a friend with him at that party that "he wished that he would have killed (redacted name) when he shot at him, but he missedk," court documents said.

That victim was critically wounded, Martin wrote, and taken to an Indianapolis hospital for further treatment.  There have no charges filed for attempted murder for this incident.

The investigative team located Derrick’s texts posted on Instagram two hours after the homicide: “Stop saying I got shot gang. We do the shooting N——a. Stop playing crazy,” court documents said.

A spokesperson for the Allen County Prosecutor indicated there will be no comment at this time.