Accomplice gets time served in Gary gas station shooting
Terry Horton appeared in court briefly in a jail jumpsuit Wednesday where he got time served in a plea deal in connection with a Gary gas station shooting.
He faced up to three years. Both Deputy Prosecutor Kasey Dafoe and defense lawyer Gojko Kasich agreed Horton had nearly 500 days of jail credit, enough to close the case.
Do you understand what’s going on, Judge Samuel Cappas asked.
“Yes, your honor,” Horton replied.
Horton, now 26, signed a plea agreement in December 2020 to assisting a criminal, a Level 5 felony. His co-defendant and half-brother Aaron Sawyer, the shooter, got 67 years Tuesday.
Horton’s sentencing was delayed on April 3, after Kasich asked for more time for his client to read a presentence investigation report.
Horton’s mother Latasha Horton testified then on his behalf, saying he was a “good kid” despite the “trouble” he got into with the case. He had “matured” since he was jailed about two years ago and his temper had mellowed.
He admitted he drove Sawyer on May 31, 2020, from the Clark gas station, 2725 W. 5th Ave. in Gary, after the man fatally shot Dorell Townsend, 22, of Gary, inside.
At the end of Wednesday’s court hearing, Horton turned around to go back to jail. While out on bond, he was arrested for an unrelated murder in a drive-by shooting.
He was charged in May 2022 with murder and attempted murder after allegedly opening fire on a minivan, killing a man and wounding a baby inside.
He has pleaded not guilty.
A woman told police Nehemiah Martin, 25, was riding in her minivan on May 7, 2022, headed east on 17th Avenue in Gary when a Chevrolet Malibu pulled up on the right side around 6 p.m. and a young man opened fire.
Martin was killed and his son, 17 months, was shot in the right arm, records show. Two other children in the van were not physically hurt.
The trial is set for Aug. 19.
