INDIANAPOLIS — A man has been charged in connection with a fatal robbery last month on the city's northwest side in which he allegedly slammed the 70-year-old victim to the ground so hard he needed to be placed on life support.
Joshua Dye, 30, of Indianapolis, is accused of killing Jesus Chan Mazariegos in that robbery, which left him brain-dead before he was eventually taken off life support, according to a probable cause affidavit.
Indianapolis police homicide detectives began investigating on April 29 after being notified Mazariegos would not survive. The attack happened about 5:38 p.m. April 25, in the 4400 block of Mission Drive.
Investigators were told another person, later identified as Dye, was seen "violently" shaking Mazariegos, then running away. Mazariegos appeared to have suffered a head injury and a seizure before someone called emergency responders, according to the affidavit.
Mazariegos was transported to Eskenazi Hospital for his injuries. He was taken off life support and pronounced dead about 11:15 a.m. April 29.
An autopsy found Mazariegos' cause of death was multiple blunt force trauma injuries. A deputy coroner said he suffered hematomas and swelling to his brain, fractured ribs on his left side and internal body cavity bleeding, according to the affidavit.
Family members told police they last saw Mazariegos the morning of April 25 and that he hadn't returned from work at his normal time and wasn't answering calls. It was later discovered his wallet and cell phone were missing.
Police later found surveillance video at the scene of the attack which showed a man in a ski mask parking on the property, walking to where Mazariegos was attacked, getting back into the car and driving away. It also appeared to show him examining a wallet as he got back into the car.
Police discovered Dye's address by finding the car's plate number, which was captured on camera. The following evening, officers took a report for a similar robbery in the same area involving the same vehicle.
Police executed a search warrant for the vehicle May 23 and later took Dye into custody.
During an interview with police, Dye admitted to the robberies and said, he "didn't mean for this (expletive) to happen," adding, "I didn't think I slammed him that hard" and "I didn't mean to do that to that old man," the affidavit alleges.
Dye was charged Friday with one each of murder, robbery resulting in serious bodily injury and robbery resulting in bodily injury.
He is scheduled to appear before a jury Sept. 19 in Marion Superior Court.
