A Greenwood man has pled guilty to conspiring to murder and rob a ride-share driver three years ago in Indianapolis.
Jahion Jarrett, 19, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder where the conspiracy results in death, a Level 1 felony, on Jan. 17 in Marion Superior Court 27. As part of a plea agreement, two counts of murder, and one count each of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury as a Level 2 felony, resisting law enforcement as a Level 6 felony and dangerous possession of a firearm by a child as a misdemeanor, will be dismissed. The conspiracy charge was added after the case’s initial filing, online court records show.
The plea is open, meaning that a judge will decide his sentencing term. However, the agreement does stipulate a minimum sentence of at least 30 years, court documents show.
The advisory sentence for a Level 1 felony is 30 years, with a sentencing range of 10 to 30 years.
Police say Jarrett requested a Lyft ride using someone else’s account on the evening of July 8, 2021. He allegedly shot the driver in the head, robbed him, dumped his body behind an east side church and stole his car, according to court documents. The driver was identified as 45-year-old Hurts Presendieu.
The body was discovered the next night near a storage barn behind the church in the 9400 block of E. 25th St. Security and street cameras, as well as a GPS monitoring bracelet worn by Jarrett at the time, placed him at the scene and in the victim’s car, according to court documents.
Just before 4 a.m. July 12, 2021, Cumberland Police attempted to stop the victim’s car in the 900 block of Muessing St. It initially stopped, then fled. The car crashed near East Washington Street and Shadeland Avenue, and police detained three juveniles. Jarrett was driving, court documents show.
Police searched the car July 14, 2021, and found suspected dried blood droplets smeared and splattered throughout the vehicle, which smelled of suspected decomposing blood. The next day, police served search warrants at the homes of the two juveniles who were in the car with Jarrett, and at a home that turned out to be an old address for Jarrett, according to court documents.
Jarrett was located at a Greenwood apartment on July 26, 2021. He told police he remembered nothing and refused to answer certain questions, but admitted he used Lyft from time to time, court documents show.
When police told Jarrett they were investigating a murder, he pointed down at his leg with a smile, indicating that he was on GPS monitoring. He told police he had never taken it off, court documents show.
Witnesses said Jarrett told them the requested Lyft ride was going to be a “lick,” which is slang for a robbery. Jarrett later told witnesses he shot the Lyft driver in the head, then went to an area near a church, according to court documents.
Jarrett had been charged in September 2020 with armed robbery, auto theft, dangerous possession of a firearm by a child and criminal mischief. He was on probation at the time of the murder, according to online court records.
His sentencing in the murder case is set for 1 p.m. Feb. 26.
