Jury finds Fort Wayne man guilty of murder and robbery in 2022 gun trafficking shooting | Dishes

Jurors found a second suspect guilty Thursday of shooting a man over a gun deal.

Anfernee Dean, 25, was originally charged with murder, robbery and an enhanced sentence for use of a weapon – charges that mirrored those of then-17-year-old Lonnel Tinker. The charge was the murder of Johnny R. Yates, 27, during a gun deal in 2022.

A jury deliberated for about three hours before finding Dean guilty of aggravated murder and robbery. Chief Deputy District Attorney Tom Chaille said the state previously rejected the sentencing increase based on the evidence.

Tinker was found guilty of the same charges in April 2023, and the jury found him not guilty of the sentencing enhancement. Later that month he was sentenced to 65 years in prison.

Dean faces between 55 and 95 years in prison at his November hearing.

Yates was found in a vehicle with multiple gunshot wounds on November 28, 2022. His girlfriend, who was sitting in the driver's seat of the vehicle, said Yates asked her to accompany him on the gun deal.

Two suspects got into the back seat of the vehicle at Yates' direction. A third suspect walked up to the vehicle before the two in the back seat pulled out their guns, pointed them at Yates and his girlfriend and demanded everything they had.

A suspect repeatedly yelled at the woman to turn off the vehicle. When she did so, the suspect snatched the keys from her.

She grabbed them back, heard gunshots and fell to the floor of the vehicle. The suspects then left, got into their vehicle and fled.

The murder was captured on surveillance video and the suspects were identified by the witness and a confidential informant.

Dean's trial began Tuesday. Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull is expected to sentence him at a hearing on Nov. 22.