Kamarion Moody: Brownsburg Shooting, 95-Year Sentence, and Appeal

Kamarion Moody is an Indianapolis man convicted of murder, attempted murder, and two counts of criminal recklessness in the December 2020 drive-by shooting that killed 17-year-old Freddie Hegwood Jr. in Brownsburg, Indiana. The Brownsburg shooting left Hegwood dead in a parked Jeep, endangered children walking home from a school bus, and ended with Moody serving a 95-year sentence that the Indiana Court of Appeals upheld in July 2023.¹

What Happened on Haag Road

Just after 3:00 p.m. on December 15, 2020, Freddie Hegwood Jr. was sitting in a parked Jeep Compass with passenger Victor Griffin in a subdivision near 10273 Haag Road in Brownsburg. A black Chevrolet Impala drove by and multiple shots were fired at the Jeep. Hegwood, 17, was hit in the head and leg and later died at a hospital.² Griffin was not physically injured, though a bullet passed through the hood of his sweatshirt and tore into his headrest.³

Elementary-age children were getting off a school bus and walking home at the time. A neighbor reported seeing children run during the gunfire. Several bullets passed through a nearby home, which was unoccupied.⁴

A Gang Rivalry Playing Out Online

Investigators linked the shooting to a feud between two Indianapolis-based gangs. Moody and his co-defendants Tyreontay Jackson, Antonio Lane, and Jeremy Perez were affiliated with the Insane Money Gang (IMG) and a subset known as “4 Eva Solid” or “Davo Gang.” Hegwood was affiliated with the Kutthroats (KTG) and a subset called MBK, or My Brother’s Keeper.⁵

The conflict had escalated on Instagram. Hegwood and Moody had traded taunts in multiple video calls. Hegwood posted a video outside Moody’s former residence and sent him a photograph asking if it was where his girlfriend lived. On the day of the shooting, Hegwood was on Instagram Live, and viewers commented that someone could see him and that “they are going to send Hegwood to meet Jesus.” Investigators concluded the suspects had followed Hegwood from a gas station and noted that Griffin was “next on the ‘dead list.'”⁵

How Police Identified Moody

The Impala used in the shooting was registered to Moody’s mother. A search of the car produced DNA evidence, gunshot residue, and .223-caliber ammunition casings in the dashboard vent that matched casings recovered at the scene. Investigators tied social media screen names to phone numbers linked to the suspects and used cell phone location data to place Jackson and Lane in the area at the time of the shooting. Moody’s phone held rap lyrics containing nicknames for Hegwood and references to the shooting. Perez’s phone contained videos of the four suspects posing with firearms at a gas station, and after the shooting Perez posted an Instagram photo of himself with a .223 magazine, captioned with language boasting about catching “the last opp.”⁵

Lane was arrested in May 2021. Moody, Perez, and Jackson were arrested on July 13, 2021, in Indianapolis.⁴ All four were charged in Hendricks Circuit Court with murder, attempted murder, and two counts of criminal recklessness. Moody was 17 at the time of the shooting.⁶

Conviction and 95-Year Sentence

A jury found Moody guilty in September 2022 of murder, attempted murder as a Level 1 felony for shooting Griffin, and two counts of criminal recklessness as Level 5 felonies.⁷ The recklessness counts reflected the danger the gunfire posed to bystanders, particularly the children getting off the school bus.¹

In October 2022, the trial court imposed an aggregate sentence of 95 years in the Indiana Department of Correction:

60 years for murder.
35 years for attempted murder, consecutive to the murder sentence.
1 year for each criminal recklessness count, concurrent with each other and with the other sentences.

At sentencing, the court identified several aggravators: the victim had been “hunted down,” the offense was “clearly premeditated,” and Moody had “absolutely no regard for human life, shooting guns in front of children.” The court found no mitigating factors.¹

The Appeal

In Kamarion Antonio Moody v. State of Indiana, Case No. 22A-CR-2672, the Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed Moody’s convictions and 95-year sentence on July 21, 2023.¹

Moody challenged the admission of rap videos (trial Exhibits 185 and 186) the prosecution used to establish gang affiliation and motive. The appellate court held the trial court did not abuse its discretion because the videos were relevant. He challenged other exhibits on hearsay grounds. The court acknowledged a potential error in admitting them but found it harmless because other substantial evidence linked Moody to the crimes. Moody also argued that trial references to a prior gang-related shooting at the Indiana State Fairgrounds amounted to fundamental error. The court rejected that claim, finding he had not met the “high bar” for fundamental error. On the sentence itself, the court found 95 years appropriate given the premeditated nature of the crime and Moody’s character, citing his juvenile record, the fact that he was on probation at the time of the offense, and a violent incident while he was incarcerated awaiting trial.¹

What Happened to the Other Defendants

The four defendants were tried separately, and the outcomes diverged sharply.

Antonio Lane was found guilty in November 2021 of murder, attempted murder, two counts of criminal recklessness, and a criminal organization sentencing enhancement. He was sentenced in January 2022 to 130 years, comprising 55 years for murder, 55 years for the criminal organization enhancement, and 20 years for attempted murder.⁸ Lane has filed a petition for post-conviction relief.²

Tyreontay Jackson was found guilty in August 2022 of murder, attempted murder, and criminal recklessness. He was sentenced in October 2022 to an aggregate 143 years, which included a criminal organization enhancement. The Indiana Court of Appeals affirmed his convictions and sentence on October 23, 2023.⁹

Jeremy Perez was acquitted of all charges after a four-day jury trial that concluded on January 20, 2023.⁷

Lane and Jackson both received longer sentences than Moody. Each of their sentences included a 55-year criminal organization enhancement that was not part of Moody’s.