Man found guilty in 2021 drug-deal-turned homicide at west-side apartment complex
INDIANAPOLIS — A Marion County jury has ruled a man guilty in a 2021 drug-deal-turned homicide, according to online court records.
The three-day trial ended Wednesday with Tavaris Jackson convicted of two counts of murder and two counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury in the shooting death of 42-year-old Jeffrey Herald, who police found shot dead at an apartment complex on the west side of Indianapolis.
One of his charges, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, was dismissed during the trial.
Jackson is one of two men facing criminal penalties in Herald’s death. His alleged accomplice, Laseanne Strode, filed an agreement in October 2023 to plead guilty, the details of which have been sealed as confidential, according to the Marion County clerk’s office. A judge is slated to accept or deny the plea at a hearing on May 3.
A witness told police she drove with Herald to the apartment complex that day, Nov. 27, 2021, to drop off marijuana and THC vape cartridges to someone. When they arrived, Herald got out of the car and walked to the passenger side when the witness heard the gunshot, she told police.
A man then approached the car and pointed a gun at her head, telling her to open the trunk. She heard two men say “let’s go, let’s go,” and they rounded the corner of the building carrying trash bags.
More witnesses reported hearing the gunshots and seeing two men running from the complex, in the 5400 block of Pleasant Hill Circle, shortly later.
Police in court records said detectives found Jackson's phone at the scene of the shooting and saw he and Strode had exchanged numerous texts and calls before the shooting.
Officers arrested Strode about a month after the killing as he exited a plane at the Indianapolis International Airport. Police took Jackson into custody roughly seven months after the shooting.
Jackson is scheduled to be sentenced May 23.
Contact reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Man guilty in 2021 drug-deal-turned homicide in west Indianapolis
