Authorities say an illicit gun sale ended with an 18 year old Evansville man charged with attempted murder.
The Vanderburgh County Sheriff’s Office reports they responded to a report of an armed robbery with shots fired at a residence on Longiron Drive in Eagle Crossing subdivision off of Petersburg Road around 7:20 p.m. Thursday and spoke with the alleged victim, 18 year old Blake Alan Will of Evansville. They say Will stated he met 17 year old Devin Maurice Meriwether of Evansville at his residence around 6:00 p.m. to discuss the sale of his 9mm Glock 17 semi-automatic handgun when the robbery occurred.
According to authorities, Will alleged that while Meriwether was inspecting the firearm he loaded a magazine into the weapon and pointed the gun at him, and then fled to his vehicle with the handgun and drove off. Will initially claimed that Meriwether fired one shot into the ground near his feet before running off, but police say Will later recanted his statement and claimed he fired two shots into the air with his 9mm Hi-Point semi-automatic handgun as Meriwether fled with the stolen handgun.
During the investigation, authorities reportedly found Meriwether at his residence in the 5-thousand block of Washington Avenue, as well as his vehicle with a bullet hole in the driver’s side door frame.
Police say a records check of Will’s Hi-Point handgun revealed it had been reports stolen earlier this summer from an Evansville residence. They say the 9mm Glock 17 has not yet been recovered.
Both Will and Meriwether were arrested and lodged in the Vanderburgh County Detention Center. Will is charged with attempted murder with a firearm, criminal recklessness while armed with a deadly weapon and provision of a firearm to a child and theft of a firearm. Meriwether was charged with robbery with a deadly weapon and pointing a loaded firearm.
Blake Alan Will, 18, of Evansville. Attempted Murder with a Firearm as a Level 1 Felony, Criminal Recklessness while Armed with a Deadly Weapon as a Level 6 Felony, Provision of a Firearm to a Child as a Level 5 Felony, Theft of a Firearm as a Level 6 Felony.
Devin Maurice Meriwether, 17, of Evansville. Robbery with a Deadly Weapon as a Level 3 Felony, Pointing a Loaded Firearm as a Level 6 Felony.