In a recent court proceeding, 20-year-old Tyrique Radford El pleaded guilty to the murder of a Whiteland teenager, Temario Stokes Jr., who was shot while waiting for his school bus in August 2022. Radford El, convicted of the crime in Johnson County, could face up to 55 years in prison, as reported by the Daily Journal.
Johnson County Prosecutor Lance Hamner described the case: "This case is tragedy compounded by tragedy," stating, "It’s a sad and unusual case in that both of these young men had clean records. No criminal history. They had a dispute that escalated to gunplay and one ended up dead. And two lives were destroyed. My heart goes out to the family of the victim, whose life was senselessly taken," according to a statement obtained by FOX59. According to details from the same source, the shooting appeared targeted as witnesses reported that the perpetrator, identified as Radford El, approached Stokes at the Winterwood Drive and Providence Drive bus stop and shot him multiple times.
After the incident, Radford El fled and discarded the weapon—a Taurus G2C 9 mm handgun—in a cornfield. When apprehended, he was initially untruthful with authorities, claiming he was sweating from a workout. He eventually went on to reveal the details of the killing to investigators, as noted in the probable cause affidavit. "Nine times out of 10, he probably did just reach for his pocket. But I don't know," Radford El said, according to information reported by FOX59. He recognized his actions were not in self-defense, as Stokes had not drawn a weapon on him.
The mother of the victim, Tiera Ervin Montgomery, reflected on the last interactions with her son, who had been a sophomore at Whiteland Community High School for a mere four days before the shooting. "I just cooked last night and made him a pot of greens, and I'm thinking my baby was going to return home, and he didn’t even get to make it to school," Montgomery told WTHR in an earlier interview. Her younger son was also en route to the bus stop when the shooting took place.
Radford El, who lived a mile from Stokes and was described as an acquaintance, admitted to detectives that he regretted his actions and expressed a desire for therapy. His sentencing for the murder is scheduled for November 26.
