Man who dumped woman outside Riley Hospital with fatal gunshot wounds sentenced
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man accused of shooting a woman, driving to Riley Hospital for Children and dumping her at the emergency room entrance has been ordered to spend over six decades in prison.
On Friday, Marion Superior Judge Marie Kern sentenced Gary Jackson to 61 years in prison for a murder charge stemming from the 2021 shooting death of 41-year-old Joan Berry, who was left on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds at Riley Hospital on April 21, 2021. Berry died about 30 minutes later.
Jackson's other charges, including carrying a handgun without a license, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, criminal recklessness and leaving the scene of a crash, were dismissed.
Investigators in court records said they traced Berry’s shooting to Jackson from surveillance footage at the hospital. The cameras showed a blue Nissan Rogue pull up to the hospital's emergency room entrance on the west side of Indianapolis. The passenger door opens, and Berry is seen “falling from the vehicle to the ground.” The car then drives away, running over Berry’s left arm and leg.
Police made a note that Berry wore a black down jacket riddled with bullet holes and a black shoe on her right foot.
About an hour and a half later, police were notified about a “vehicle accident with shots fired” involving a blue Nissan Rogue. Investigators were told a man in the Nissan had been in a crash, was armed with a gun and fired the gun before trying to carjack someone.
The Nissan matched the vehicle seen in surveillance footage from the hospital, according to police. Investigators found a left shoe, the same size, brand and color as the shoe Berry wore at the hospital, on the front passenger floorboard. White feathers matching the ones found on her coat were also in the car. An apparent bullet hole was in the windshield.
Officers found Jackson lying in bushes on the side of a house on the same block. He had blood on his pants, police noted.
When asked if someone had been shot in the car, police said Jackson told officers “I think I hurt one of my friends,” and later said a woman tried to rob him.
During further interviews with detectives, Jackson said he had picked Berry up and driven to an abandoned house “to use narcotics.”
“Jackson said he didn’t know what happened after that and his next memory was having been in a car accident," the affidavit says, noting Jackson claimed to have used PCP.
Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Indianapolis crime: Gary Jackson sentenced in killing of Joan Berry
