A Christmas Day argument over a slammed door ended with 44-year-old Cedric Crews shot in the chest and killed inside a home on Indianapolis's northeast side, and the man convicted of pulling the trigger has now been sentenced to 65 years in prison. Derek McKenzie III, 28, was convicted of murder, unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, and a felony firearm sentencing enhancement following a court trial.
According to WIBC 93.1 FM, Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said the case represented “an irreversible and tragic choice” that “decimated the lives of two families” and culminated in the sentence handed down against McKenzie. Investigators say the shooting happened shortly after 11 a.m. on December 25, 2024, inside a residence in the 4400 block of North Kitley Avenue, near East 46th Street and North Arlington Avenue, according to WTHR. Crews was rushed to Methodist Hospital in critical condition and died shortly after arrival.
A Dispute Over a Slammed Door Turns Fatal
Prosecutors said a brief argument broke out inside the home before McKenzie entered the room where Crews was and repeatedly demanded to know who had slammed the door. Investigators say McKenzie then threatened to kill Crews, shot him in the chest, and fled the scene. The dispute's origin — something as ordinary as a slammed door — stands in stark contrast to its outcome, a fact prosecutors underscored when announcing the case's resolution.
Police arrived at the Kitley Avenue home the same day and launched an investigation that would stretch into the following month. IMPD homicide detectives identified McKenzie as a suspect through witness interviews, and the department's Violent Crimes Unit tracked him down on February 3, 2025, at a home in the 1500 block of West 27th Street, the same report from WTHR notes. Officers executing a search warrant there found several firearms, including one modified with a machine gun conversion device — a component commonly known as a Glock switch that converts a semi-automatic handgun into a fully automatic weapon.
Maximum Sentence Reflects Enhancements Under Indiana Law
Under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-3, a murder conviction carries a standard prison term ranging from 45 to 65 years, with an advisory sentence of 55 years; Indiana treats murder as a single offense rather than dividing it into degrees. McKenzie's separate conviction for unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon, a Level 4 felony under Indiana Code § 35-47-4-5, carries a penalty of two to 12 years with an advisory sentence of six years. The additional felony firearm sentencing enhancement he was convicted of allows courts to tack on five to 20 more years under Indiana Code § 35-50-2-11 when prosecutors prove a firearm was used or pointed during the offense, with that enhancement served consecutively to the underlying sentence.
Taken together, the combination points to why McKenzie received the top end of Indiana's standard murder sentencing range rather than the 55-year advisory figure. The Marion County Prosecutor's Office has leaned on similar combinations of serious violent felon charges and firearm enhancements in other recent cases; the same prosecutor's office announced a 47-year sentence in a separate shooting case in July 2026, according to WTHR.
Killing Adds to a Deadly Year on the Northeast Side
The shooting occurred within IMPD's East District, a roughly 50-square-mile patrol zone serving about 145,489 residents with roughly 204 sworn officers, according to data published by Indy.gov. Crews' death came during 2024, a year in which IMPD investigated between 201 and 208 homicides citywide, according to WFYI. Homicides in Indianapolis fell sharply the following year, dropping to 133 in 2025 — a nearly 45 percent decline from the city's 2021 peak of 241.
No additional details about McKenzie's legal defense or any appeal plans were included in the available reporting. The case closes with McKenzie facing the remainder of his life behind bars for a shooting that, by prosecutors' own account, began over nothing more than who had slammed a door.
