INDIANAPOLIS -- Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for a man accused of killing three people in Indianapolis from May 12-15.
"As we describe the homicides which are occurring in our city, we frequently sound like a broken record when we describe these murders as "senseless," Marion County Prosecutor Terry Curry said. "But the killings that have occurred here are beyond senseless."
Johnathan Cruz, 19, was charged in June with three counts of murder, two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and one count each of armed robbery and intimidation.
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Cruz reportedly told a witness he had been "Purging" – referencing the fictional 2013 movie "in which the United States government sanctioned an event in which all crimes to include rape, murder, arson, assault and theft is legal from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. the next day."
"Mr. Boyd, Mr. Higginbotham, and Mr. Ruiz were killed for no reason whatsoever," Curry said.
This will be the fourth time Curry has filed for the death penalty. Two previous occasions involved police officers: Thomas Hardy and Major Davis II. The other was for Kenneth Rackemann, who is serving four life sentences.
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Police searched Cruz’s mother’s apartment, located on the 4500 block of East Washington Street, and found dozens of pieces of evidence, such as:
- A photo of .357-caliber cartridges consistent with the type of bullet recovered from some of the victims
- Photos of blood on an unidentified person's hands, with a black revolver in the background
- A picture of the driver's license of one of Cruz's alleged robbery victims
- A photo of a large, .357-caliber revolver along with ammunition
- A picture with Cruz and five other individuals, three of whom are flashing "gang signs" with their hands
- A video of Cruz showing a revolver and wearing a bandana on the bottom half of his face while riding in a vehicle. A female voice can be heard to say, "Don't do it," before Cruz is seen pointing the gun out the window and firing several times
- Another video of Cruz in a vehicle saying "Don't run [expletives], why you runnin'?" Cruz is then see pointing and shooting a handgun out of the window of the car
- Several videos of individuals, including Cruz, fighting
- Several videos and photographs depicting various denominations of cash, marijuana, Xanax bars and other apparent narcotic substances, sometimes with Cruz also in frame
Police also recovered a number of text messages from Cruz's cellphone. In one, Cruz allegedly says, "I Purge every night now … since im dieing someone else Has to."
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