VALPARAISO, Ind. — One of two men charged in the fatal shooting of a 23-year-old Valparaiso man outside Franklin House bar has been released from the Porter County Jail, The Times of Northwest Indiana reported Wednesday.
Bond for Camilo Chavez, 22, of Lake Station, was set at $5,000 cash during his initial hearing before Porter Circuit Court Judge Rebecca Buitendorp, who also ordered him into pretrial release monitoring, court records show, according to The Times.
Key facts
| Item | Detail | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Release | Chavez bonded out after $5,000 cash bond set Tuesday; pretrial monitoring ordered | Court/jail records via The Times (Oct. 14) |
| Chavez charges | Assisting a criminal; battery | The Times (Oct. 12, Oct. 14) |
| Still held | Antione Pierson Jr., 22, of Portage — murder; unlawful carrying of a handgun; resisting law enforcement | The Times (Oct. 14) |
| Pierson hearing | Initial hearing Thursday, Porter Superior Judge Mike Fish | The Times (Oct. 14) |
| Victim | Seth Jankowski, 23, of Valparaiso; exsanguination; ruled homicide | Porter County Coroner via NBC Chicago / The Times |
| When / where | About 2:56 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, 50 block of Campbell Street (Franklin House, 58 S. Campbell) | Valparaiso PD via The Times |
What the records say about Chavez
Chavez is accused of striking a second person who tried to break up a fight between Antione Pierson Jr. and Jankowski, The Times reported, citing charging documents.
He is presumed innocent. Bond and pretrial conditions are not a finding of guilt.
The shooting and Pierson's case
Valparaiso police were called about 2:56 a.m. Saturday to reports of gunshots in a business parking lot in the 50 block of Campbell Street. Officers found Jankowski wounded. He was taken to an area hospital and later pronounced dead.
A preliminary autopsy found he died of severe blood loss. The coroner's office ruled the death a homicide.
Charging documents filed Monday say surveillance video shows Jankowski was shot in the back outside the bar at 58 S. Campbell St., The Times reported.
Pierson, who has a prior handgun conviction, is charged with murder, unlawful carrying of a handgun and resisting law enforcement. He remains held. His initial hearing is scheduled for Thursday before Porter Superior Court Judge Mike Fish, The Times reported.
A Porter County Sheriff's Department officer pursued the suspects' vehicle, and Pierson and Chavez were taken into custody after a crash at Ind. 249 and Interstate 94 in Portage, police said, according to The Times.
What's next
Watch Pierson's Thursday initial hearing and any updated bond or charging filings. Police have not publicly said what started the fight outside Franklin House.
Pierson and Chavez are presumed innocent. Charges are accusations; the state must prove them in court.
Photo credit
¹ Lincolnway in downtown Valparaiso, Indiana — photo by Dennisyerger84 at English Wikipedia, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license. Illustrative; not the Campbell Street scene.
² Porter County Courthouse, Valparaiso — photo by Chris Light, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license. Illustrative; not connected to the shooting scene.
³ Franklin Street east of the Porter County Courthouse, Valparaiso — photo by Chris Light, Wikimedia Commons, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0. Resized for web; this copy is shared under the same license. Illustrative; not the Campbell Street scene.
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