A Portage man faces a murder charge after a fatal shooting in Valparaiso that left one person dead.
According to an update from the Valparaiso Police Department, on Oct. 10, at approximately just before 3:00 a.m., police were dispatched to the 50 block of Campbell Street to a report of multiple gun shots taking place in a local business parking lot. Reports further indicated one person had sustained a gunshot wound and was down in the rear lot of the establishment.
Police learned the potential suspects had fled the area in a vehicle, with witnesses providing a vehicle description and direction of travel. Officers responded to the scene and began to render aid to the single victim until Valparaiso Fire Department paramedics arrived. The victim was transported to the Northwest Health Porter Campus where they succumbed to their injuries.
As a local investigation began, police were further canvassing the area with the suspect vehicle being observed traveling west on State Road 130. Porter County Sheriff’s Department officers located the vehicle which initiated a pursuit. The pursuit concluded at Indiana State Road 249 and Interstate 94 in Portage and resulted in two suspects being taken into custody. Both were transported to the Valparaiso Police Department for further investigation and subsequently arrested.
Arrested were 22-year-old Antione L. Pierson, of Portage and 22-year-old Camilo Chavez, of Lake Station.
Pierson has been charged with murder, resisting law enforcement, and possession of a controlled substance. As of Monday he was incarcerated at the Porter County Jail.
Chavez has been charged with battery and assisting a criminal. He is currently incarcerated at the Porter County Jail.