Surveillance footage helped lead to a Portage man being charged with fatally shooting a man at a parking lot outside the Franklin House in downtown Valparaiso just before the pub’s 3 a.m. closing time Saturday, court records show.
Antione Pierson Jr., 22, was formally charged Monday with murder for the shooting death of Seth Jankowski, 23, of Valparaiso.
Pierson also faces additional felony charges of unlawful carrying of a handgun and resisting law enforcement.
Camilo Chavez, 22, of Lake Station, who is accused of being with Pierson when the shooting occurred, faces a Level 5 felony charge of assisting a criminal.
A probable cause statement and a Valparaiso police statement outline what happened when police were alerted at 2:56 a.m. about multiple shots fired behind the Franklin House, 58 S. Campbell St.
When police arrived they found Jankowski down with multiple gunshot wounds. He was taken to Northwest Health Porter, where he was pronounced dead, according to a news release from the Porter County Coroner’s Office.
Witnesses provided a description of two men fleeing the scene in a black 2006 Honda Accord, court records state.
A number of area law enforcement agencies participated in the search for the vehicle. A Porter County Sheriff’s officer spotted the Honda Accord going west on State Road 130 and initiated a pursuit, the affidavit states.
The chase ended with the car crashing on the northbound exit ramp of Indiana 249 off Interstate 94. Pierson and Chavez were taken into custody within an hour of the shooting, records state.
A black semi-automatic handgun was recovered from the floorboard of the crashed vehicle, court records show.
Police also recovered 9 mm shell casings at the scene of the shooting in Valparaiso.
In the affidavit, Valparaiso Police Detective Alex Smith said he reviewed video footage from the Franklin House parking lot and saw that the man identified as Pierson came up behind Jankowski and shot him in the back.
Chavez punched a man who was trying to break up the fight between Pierson and Jankowski. Pierson and Chavez then ran to a black sedan and drove off, records state.
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Smith said from his observation at the Valparaiso Police Department Saturday morning, Pierson and Chavez matched the description of the two assailants in the video.
Both men are being held at the Porter County Jail.
The Porter County Coroner’s office had an autopsy performed on Jankowski Monday and ruled his death a homicide. The cause of Jankowski’s death was severe blood loss from the gunshot wounds, the release stated.
Jim Woods is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.