A Marion County judge sentenced 22-year-old Kaeden Douglas to 55 years in prison Friday for the fatal shooting of 28-year-old Jereme Dillingham outside the Mucky Duck Pub on Indianapolis's south side, closing out a case that jurors decided just weeks earlier when they rejected his claim of self-defense. Judge James K. Snyder handed down the sentence in Marion Superior Court 32, giving Douglas 50 years for murder plus an additional five years for using a firearm during the crime.
The shooting happened just after 1:30 a.m. on July 17, 2025, in the parking lot outside the bar, located west of the I-65 interchange at 4425 S. Southport Road, according to WRTV. Dillingham had tried to break up a fight in the bar's game room, stepping in to protect a bartender from an irate Douglas, according to a probable cause affidavit reported by WTHR. Douglas reportedly told bar employees “you all are dead men” before a bouncer removed him from the premises at 1:30 a.m.
Threats and Slurs Before the Shooting
Once outside, Douglas repeatedly used racial slurs and threatened a woman who had punched him through his car window, warning her, “B----, I have something for you,” according to the same affidavit cited by WTHR. Security footage reviewed in the case reportedly showed Douglas and Dillingham shaking hands and hugging at an earlier point in the night, a detail that stood in stark contrast to what followed. Douglas shot Dillingham in the parking lot as bystanders looked on and later tried to help the wounded man before first responders arrived.
After the shooting, Douglas fled the scene by car. Investigators tracked him to his home on Naomi Street on Indianapolis's southeast side, where they seized a .40-caliber handgun and clothing matching security camera footage from the pub, according to WIBC. Witnesses reported that Douglas was highly intoxicated that night, and probable cause documents relayed by the station show he changed his story several times while speaking with investigators — at first claiming he did not remember being at the bar, then describing himself as a “lightweight” who could “drink like a hog,” and suggesting his drinks were heavy pours or spiked after bar receipts recorded four shots of Crown Royal on his tab.
Jury Rejects Self-Defense Claim
Douglas made his initial court appearance on murder charges on July 22, 2025, when Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears publicly emphasized that racial slurs and hate-driven aggression directly led to the fatal confrontation. A jury convicted Douglas of murder on July 30 following a four-day trial in which his defense attorneys argued he had fired his handgun in self-defense — an argument the jury did not accept.
Following the sentencing, Mears said in a news release that prejudice and discrimination drove the violent crime and that hatred should never be the reason someone dies. He said the community is no place for hate or racism, and that the tragedy should serve as a wake-up call for people to hold one another accountable. Mears added that the verdict helps the Dillingham family find justice.
A Pattern Along Southport Crossing Drive
Indiana law sets a mandatory fixed sentence of between 45 and 65 years for murder, with 55 years designated as the state's advisory baseline, according to FindLaw. Separately, state law allows courts to tack on a fixed enhancement of five to 20 years when a defendant knowingly or intentionally uses a firearm during a felony, per Justia Law — the mechanism that added Douglas's five extra years.
The Mucky Duck Pub sits along a commercial strip near Interstate 65 that has seen recurring parking lot violence, including a fatal shooting outside a Texas Roadhouse in February 2025 and a shooting outside Carrabba's this month, as Hoodline previously reported. Indianapolis recorded 159 criminal homicides in 2023, and Marion County prosecutors handle more than 100 homicide trials and prosecutions each year, according to Suhre & Associates — a workload that underscores how frequently disputes in the county still escalate to gunfire.
