FRANKLIN — An Indianapolis man has pleaded guilty to a shooting near a Boys and Girls Club in Johnson County.
Emilio Garcia, 21, of Indianapolis, appeared in Johnson County Superior Court on March 30, and admitted to the murder of Donovan Burdine, 18, of Franklin.
On January 25, 2020, Garcia went to a small home located on Hurricane Ave. behind the location of a Boys and Girls Club to deliver marijuana.
It was there that an altercation ensued at the home involving multiple people during the drug deal and several 911 calls were made of shots fired in the area.
When police arrived, they found Burdine dead in the front yard and he appeared to have been shot.
Franklin Police were able to use home security footage at the house to identify and locate of the driver of the car involved. An interview with that person quickly led to the identification of Garcia as being involved in the shooting.
He was located and taken into custody for murder and robbery.
When this case was first filed, it was believed that Burdine was killed as part of a robbery by Garcia in connection with the drug transaction. However, it later became clear that the opposite was true.
Garcia was initially set to go to trial on April 5, but instead will appear for sentencing on April 8.
He initially entered into a fixed plea agreement with the Johnson County Prosecutor’s Office where he will serve 18 years behind bars on a voluntary manslaughter charge.
