A Merrillville man was sentenced to 50 years in prison Thursday for shooting his coworker to death in a Portage parking lot outside their workplace almost two years ago.
Citing mitigating factors, Porter Superior Court Judge Michael Fish handed down the minimum sentence of 45 years in prison to 22-year-old Lupe McGee Jr. Thursday afternoon, plus a consecutive five-year sentence for a firearm enhancement for the Oct. 16, 2024, murder of Lenell Jenkins, 22, of Chesterton.
A jury convicted McGee in late April.
His voice heavy with emotion, Fish said there were no winners in the courtroom.
“The tragedy here ripples outward in every direction, including a child who is now fatherless,” Fish said. “Lupe gave his own youth and life away when he chose to shoot Lenell.”
Indeed, both victim and defendant leave fatherless children in the wake of the shooting at the Camaco seat manufacturing plant at 6615 Ameriplex Dr., Suite B in Portage. Jenkins’ fiancée was seven months pregnant at the time of his killing. The baby boy is now 18 months old. And McGee has a one-year-old daughter.
A witness who was a coworker at the time of the shooting testified that drinking on the job and drinking and smoking marijuana in the parking lot after a shift were daily occurrences. Fish addressed the responsibility borne by the owners of Camaco in maintaining such an environment.
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Shana Coleman, Jenkins’ fiancée, said her son “is the spitting image of his father. My son will grow up hearing stories of his father” instead of knowing him.
Jenkins’ twin sister Lenotika Jenkins also testified. “There are no words that can describe what it means to have a twin brother,” she said. “When my brother was murdered, a part of me was murdered too.”
McGee’s aunt, Yoland Jones, spoke on his behalf, asking Fish for leniency.
Porter County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chris Hammer, citing aggravating factors of McGee shooting Jenkins at point-blank range and showing a lack of disregard for others’ lives in a crowded parking lot, asked Fish to hand down a 60-year sentence for the murder charge, plus an additional 10 years for the firearm enhancement, for a total of 70 years.
“The victim is seen stepping back from the defendant before he was shot,” he said. “The aggravators here far outweigh the mitigators.”
Fish disagreed. “Lenell repeatedly said, ‘Let’s blow,’” Fish said when explaining his sentence.
McGee will receive 611 days of Class B credit for time served. Fish said McGee will remain on parole for the remainder of his life upon the completion of his sentence. He asked if McGee intends to appeal. He said he does, and it was determined he qualifies for the assignment of a public defender.
Shelley Jones is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.