Man Arrested In Woman's Stray Bullet Death

INDIANAPOLIS -- Police on Thursday said they arrested a man in connection with the death of a pregnant woman who was hit by a stray bullet as she sat in her new apartment last week.

Jeffrey Whitsey, 18, surrendered to police Thursday afternoon, authorities said. Police said witnesses identified Whitsey as someone who had fired a gun near the east-side Indianapolis apartment where Jamitra Mitchell, 22, was struck.

Police said the surrender was arranged by a minister of the Puritan Baptist Church, Bishop Larry Grinstead, who said a church member told him that Whitsey knew he was wanted by police and wanted to talk. Grinstead met with the teen before calling police.

"He wanted to turn himself in. He wanted to do the right thing," Grinstead told 6News' Cheryl Jackson. "What I saw was a scared child, because he's still a child."

Grinstead said Whitsey told him that he didn't shoot Mitchell and wasn't around when the shooting happened.

Police said they still were looking for a male who they believe was the intended target of the shooting. Police said they consider that person to be a witness only and is not in trouble.

Authorities said the witness is black, about 5 feet 10 inches tall, and has long hair and a ponytail.

Mitchell was fatally shot as she sat in a chair in her apartment in the 10000 block of John Marshall Drive on Saturday night. Investigators believe the bullet came from the outside and went through a window, according to police.

Authorities said two groups of men had been arguing at a basketball court just south of Mitchell's apartment shortly before the shooting happened. Police said they believe Whitsey initially wasn't involved in the fight but confronted someone who had tried to stop it.

Mitchell's three children, ages 1, 3 and 4, were in the apartment when she was shot, police said. The children were put into the custody of Mitchell's family.

Mitchell had moved into the apartment just hours before the shooting, police said. Her funeral is scheduled for Friday morning.

Whitsey hasn't confessed to the shooting, police said.