18-year-old charged with attempted murder in shooting at Miami Hills apartments

The 18-year-old who was recently charged with attempted murder for a shooting on July 26 has just been charged with attempted murder for a shooting on July 12, according to court documents.

Jalen Bonner, 18, has been charged with attempted murder, battery by means of a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness in connection with a shooting at Miami Hills Apartments.

Bonner is scheduled for a bond hearing in this case on September 28.

Prosecutors are seeking a gang enhancement.

On July 12, South Bend Police responded to Miami Hills Apartments on S. High Street for reports of a shooting.

Police located the female victim who had a gunshot to the upper leg. She was taken to the hospital for treatment.

Police located 17 bullet casings from the parking lot from three different firearms. There were two 9mm and one .45-caliber weapon, according to the probable cause affidavit.

A witness told police she pulled into the parking lot to pick up the victim when she heard gunshots being fired in the direction of her vehicle. She ducked down to avoid being shot, she told police.

When the shots stopped, she saw the victim trying to run from the area. She also noticed several bullet holes in the passenger side of her vehicle, reports said.

At the hospital, police spoke with the victim about the shooting.

She told police her boyfriend is part of the west side gang and she lives in southeast side territory, reports said.

The victim said she rarely had her boyfriend over unless it was dark because a resident on the ground floor often had members of the southeast side at her apartment, according to the probable cause affidavit.

On the day of the shooting, her boyfriend had come over during the daylight hours because they had not seen each other for a while, reports said.

She told police as she, her boyfriend and her one-year-old nephew were headed to her friend's car when she heard the door of an apartment open and saw Bonner come outside and point a gun in her direction, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The victim said she screamed "No" because she was holding her nephew, reports said.

Bonner then fired the gun at her, her boyfriend and nephew, reports said.

After the victim was shot, she ran to get help. While running, she saw 3 men running and jumping over the fence around the complex, according to the probable cause affidavit.

The victim said she believes Bonner intended to shoot her boyfriend and that she thought there was more than one shooter, but Bonner was the only one she saw, according to the probable cause affidavit.

During the investigation, an officer located a video on Snapchat of Bonner taken on July 12 and it appeared he was at the Miami Hills apartment complex, reports said.

Bonner was arrested on September 18 for dealing in marijuana, according to police. When he was arrested, he had a 9mm handgun in his possession, police said.

Crime lab personnel compared the handgun to the 9mm casings recovered from the July 12 shooting at Miami Hills and discovered the bullets were fired from Bonner's gun, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Bonner was interviewed and stated he had the gun in his possession since July 3, reports said.

Bonner said he saw the victim's boyfriend at the apartment complex that day and the boyfriend fired at him, so he returned fire, according to the probable cause affidavit.

A witness who spoke with Bonner after the shooting asked Bonner what happened. Bonner said he had gotten into a shooting with the victim's boyfriend. When asked who fired first, Bonner replied he had shot first, according to the probable cause affidavit.

Charges were filed against Bonner in this case on September 25.

On September 21, Bonner was charged with attempted murder, battery by means of a deadly weapon and criminal recklessness for the shooting of Dennis Johnson Jr. on Maple Street on July 25, reports said.

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