Investigators have charged a fifth person with murder for the death of a Corydon Central High School student at Harvest Homecoming in New Albany two months ago.
Newly released court records show 18-year-old Damarius Gardiner Person is facing charges in the shooting that killed Bryce Gerlach and injured two others.
He’s accused of “aiding, inducing or causing” murder, as well as felonies for aiding, inducing or causing aggravated battery, assisting a criminal and obstruction of justice. Police say Person admitted to encouraging Page to shoot first, which they say he did.
Person was charged in late November, days after officials provided information on four other people charged in the case.
His case was unsealed after an initial hearing last week.
Joshua M. Smith, Shermichael J. Smith, Darius D. Tuff and Isaiah A. Page are also charged with murder in the case.
Court records show police responded just before 10 p.m. Oct. 12 to a report of shots fired near the ride area of the festival. Gerlach, the 18-year-old Corydon Central High School student, was inside the ride area and had been shot in the chest. Two others nearby had been shot in the leg. Police say all three were bystanders caught in gunfire between groups of people.
According to court records, witness statements show Person, his girlfriend and Page were smoking outside with others when they were approached by someone from “an adversarial group wanting to fight them.”
Police say in the filings Person encouraged Page to shoot first.
Investigators say they found multiple groups of bullet casings, including where they say Page was standing when he allegedly shot toward the ride area.
When investigators talked with Person, they say he admitted to running from the scene with his girlfriend and Page, and driving them across the bridge. They say data from his phone shows his girlfriend texted days after the shooting telling him to delete their messages about Harvest Homecoming, and that Person also later messaged someone else and told them to do the same.
He is currently being held without bond.
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