Indianapolis police have arrested a 15-year-old boy in connection with the death of a man whose pickup truck crashed into a daycare building on East 10th Street back in April, after investigators determined the driver had been shot before the vehicle ever hit the wall. The teen, who was riding in the backseat and was initially treated as a crash victim himself, is now accused of being the shooter who killed the man behind the wheel.
The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department says the case began on April 25, when IMPD East District officers responded to the 5000 block of East 10th Street for a truck that had crashed into a building, according to a statement from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. What first looked like a routine traffic crash turned into a homicide investigation once the Marion County Coroner’s Office determined the driver, a 29-year-old man, had been shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene, and the coroner’s office later ruled his cause of death a homicide.
The victim was identified as Nehemiah Keshun Golson, a Detroit native who performed music under the name Pac Baby, according to WTHR. At the time, coroner’s office records relayed by the station sought public assistance to reach Golson’s family back in Detroit. The 15-year-old, who was riding in the backseat, was taken to an area hospital in critical condition after the crash, IMPD said.
Crash Tore Into Daycare Building Near Conoco Station
The truck plowed into a building housing a daycare facility next to a Conoco gas station near East 10th Street and North Emerson Avenue, per the WTHR report. The impact was severe enough that Indianapolis Fire Department crews had to place structural support poles inside the building before they could safely reach the truck’s two occupants, IMPD said. IMPD crash investigators and homicide detectives both responded to the scene alongside the coroner’s office.
Investigators recovered video footage, a firearm, and a large amount of cash at the scene, according to IMPD, evidence that ultimately led detectives to identify the 15-year-old backseat passenger as the suspected shooter. The Marion County Prosecutor’s Office later issued an arrest warrant charging the teen with reckless homicide, and the case was turned over to that office as homicide detectives continued their investigation.
Warrant Served More Than Three Months Later
IMPD’s Violent Crimes Unit located and arrested the teen on the outstanding warrant on August 7, roughly three and a half months after Golson’s death. IMPD emphasized that the arrest and charge remain accusations, and that anyone arrested should be considered innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Reckless homicide is a Level 5 felony under Indiana law, carrying a prison sentence of one to six years and a fine of up to $10,000, according to Justia. The charge, which involves causing death through conscious disregard of a substantial and unjustifiable risk rather than an intentional killing, carries a much lighter potential sentence than murder. Because Indiana’s juvenile waiver statutes only mandate automatic transfer to adult court for 15-year-olds facing murder charges, a 15-year-old accused of reckless homicide is not subject to that same automatic waiver, leaving juvenile court proceedings as the likely venue unless prosecutors amend the charges.
Second Deadly Incident At Same Gas Station Weeks Later
The Conoco station near 10th and Emerson would see more bloodshed less than two weeks after Golson’s death. On May 5, a fatal shooting at the same gas station killed 26-year-old Izaak Garcia and critically injured another man, as reported by WISH-TV. IMPD homicide detectives investigating that shooting noted the gas station had already been the scene of Golson’s homicide less than two weeks earlier — a grim coincidence pointing to a stretch of East 10th Street that has drawn repeated police response. Hoodline previously reported on that deadly Conoco shooting, and later on a SWAT arrest at the same intersection in July.
Arrest Comes Amid Push On Youth Gun Violence
The teen’s arrest lands as Indianapolis expands efforts specifically aimed at curbing gun violence among minors. In March, Mayor Joe Hogsett expanded the city’s Youth Violence Reduction Initiative to target individuals 17 and under with tailored intervention strategies, according to WFYI, adapting a focused-deterrence program the city had used with adults since 2022.
IMPD recorded 23 non-fatal teen shooting victims during the first five months of 2026, slightly higher than the 22 recorded during the same period in 2025, per WRTV. That uptick comes even as the city’s overall homicide count has continued falling; Indianapolis recorded roughly 173 criminal homicides in 2024, down about 36% from its record peak of 271 in 2021, according to data compiled by Omnilert. Firearm injuries remain the leading cause of death among Indiana children and teens aged 1 to 17, with young males accounting for a disproportionate share of gun homicide victims statewide, according to Everytown for Gun Safety.
Hoodline first covered the crash itself back in April, when the driver died after the fiery wreck into the daycare building and IFD crews worked to free him and his passenger. With the teen now in custody on the reckless homicide warrant, the case moves to the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office and, absent any amended charges, is expected to proceed through Indiana’s juvenile court system.
