HENDRICKS Co. — Court documents released Monday allege that the 18-year-old charged with killing Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron Smith intentionally swerved in his direction before striking him.
Eddie Jones Jr., 18, from Sikeston, Missouri is charged with murder after he struck Smith on Ronald Reagan Parkway in Hendricks County with the stolen 2016 Chevrolet Traverse he was driving.
DeMareon Curry, 19, is also charged with auto theft. He was a passenger in the vehicle.
A 15-year-old female, who had been reported missing from Missouri was also in the car. She has not been charged with a crime, according to ISP.
An initial hearing was held for both suspects on Monday.
According to court documents, the incident started when stolen SUV was spotted in the parking lot of McDonald's on Kentucky Ave in Indianapolis.
Court documents state at first Jones and Curry complied with officers commands but after several minutes, Jones, the driver of the vehicle, rammed the police vehicle and fled the scene.
This initiated the deadly police chase that spanned from Kentucky Ave, crossing into Hendricks County.
According to court documents, Trooper Aaron Smith was in the area and was attempting to deploy stop sticks.
INDOT traffic cameras show footage of the incident from this moment forward.
Court documents state the footage shows Trooper Smith parking his car to get stop sticks from his trunk, noting that his police car's emergency lights are activated.
As the suspect vehicle approaches, Trooper Smith can be seen running east to Ronald Reagan Parkway and throwing the stop sticks in the road. This is when the the vehicle driven by Jones, veers to the right and strikes Trooper Smith, court documents state.
"At this point in the dash cam video, as well as the INDOT video, it is clear there are no vehicles or obstructions on southbound Ronald Reagan Parkway which would stop the suspect vehicle from continuing southbound on Ronald Reagan Parkway in the far left lane," court documents state.
Court documents also state that "While veering to the right the suspect vehicle moves from the far left lane, crosses the entire left lane, and enters into the right hand turn lane at which point the suspect vehicle makes contact with Trooper Smith."
After being struck, Trooper Smith was thrown into the air at least 30 feet. His body toppled several times before he came to a rest down the embankment south of the I-70 ramp, according to court docs. Trooper Smith died on the scene.
Court documents state that after the crash, Jones, Curry and the juvenile were taken into custody and transported to the hospital for evaluation.
The juvenile gave a witness statement to police. In the statement, court documents say the juvenile told police that she believed Jones saw Trooper Smith before hitting him. "when the officer went to throw the 'spikes' he (Jones) sped up and 'turned and like, all I heard was smack all over the car," she stated.
Police also received a statement from Jones. Court documents state that Jones told police that he stole the vehicle from his mother in Missouri while she was sleeping.
Jones, Curry and the juvenile drove the car to St. Louis, Bloomington, and then ended up in Indianapolis, according to court documents. They were making Door Dash deliveries to make money when they were spotted at McDonald's.
According to court records, Jones told police that he initially did not want to flee from police, but Curry told him to. Jones also states that during the pursuit, his glasses fell off his face which negatively affected his vision.
Additionally, Jones told police that he saw Trooper Smith from approximately 100 yards away and he applied his brakes, lost control and struck the trooper.
Prosecutors state in court records that they have reason to believe Jones intentionally hit Trooper Smith.
Both Jones and Curry have preliminary trials set for September.
Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp issued the following statement on the incident on Monday.
“On evening of June 28, 2023, the Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office was made aware of an investigation into the incident involving the death of 33-year-old Indiana State Police Trooper Aaron Smith. Trooper Smith was attempting to assist in the pursuit of a vehicle fleeing law enforcement. Trooper Smith attempted to deploy stop sticks on the vehicle which was traveling at a high rate of speed when the vehicle turned into the Trooper causing him to be launched into the air. Trooper Smith sustained fatal injuries as a result of the collision.
This morning the Hendricks County Prosecutor filed charges against the driver Eddie Jones, 18 years old, of Sikeston Missouri, with Murder, Resisting a Law enforcement Officer with a Vehicle Resulting in Death as a level 2 felony, and Auto Theft as a Level 6 felony. The adult front seat passenger, Demareon Curry of Morehouse Missouri, was charged with Resisting Law Enforcement and Auto Theft both level 6 felonies. At his initial hearing, Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp requested the Defendant Eddie Jones be remanded to the Hendricks County Jail pending trial. The request was granted by the court.
The Hendricks County Prosecutor’s Office was deeply saddened to learn of the death of Trooper Smith. His
passing is the first law enforcement officer killed in the line of duty in nearly fifty years in Hendricks County. We pray for Trooper Smith’s family, friends and his fellow law enforcement officers. We ask that the public keep Trooper Smith’s family, the Indiana State Police, and the Hendricks County law enforcement community in their prayers as they grieve this sudden loss
