Two charged with murder, one charged with assisting a criminal in shooting on Ashland Avenue
UPDATE: On Tuesday, March 12, 2024, a judge accepted Erica Elie's plea agreement which dismissed the charge of Assisting a Criminal. Elie was sentenced to 17 and a half years at Indiana Department of Correction on the charge of Robbery Resulting in Serious Bodily Injury.
Ddrea Bostic, 25, of South Bend was charged with the following:
- Murder
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Burglary, a level 1 felony
- Robbery, a level 2 felony
- Firearm Enhancement
Devon Briggs, 20, of South Bend was charged with the following:
- Felony Murder
- Felony Murder
- Burglary, a level 1 felony
- Robbery, a level 2 felony
- Firearm Enhancement
The sentencing range for murder is 45 to 65 years.
The sentencing range for a level 1 felony is 20 to 40 years.
The sentencing range for a level 2 felony is 10 to 30 years.
The sentencing range for a firearm enhancement is five to 20 years.
A third person, 30-year-old Erica Elie of South Bend, was charged with two counts of felony assisting a criminal.
The sentencing range for a level 5 felony is one to six years.
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At 11:23 p.m. on January 2, officers were called to the 800 block of Ashland Avenue for a shooting report.
Inside a home in the area, police found Havrick suffering from multiple gunshot wounds.
An autopsy determined Havrick died from those gunshot wounds, reports said.
Officers spoke with Havrick's juvenile son and daughter, who said they were at home with their mom at the time of the shooting.
According to the children, the home had a safe that contained multiple weapons.
On the night of the shooting, the children said two men wearing facial coverings came into the house holding handguns and demanded Havrick open the gun safe, according to reports.
One of the men was wearing all black and the other was wearing lighter-colored clothing, the children said.
Havrick told the men she didn't know the combination for the safe so she could not open it.
The man wearing the lighter-colored clothes allegedly pistol-whipped Havrick in the head before shooting her multiple times, the children said.
The other man did not say anything but left the home as soon as the first man began shooting, police said.
The shooter then left the home.
Earlier that evening, the children said their older sister and her boyfriend, identified as Ddrea Bostic, had been at the home but eventually left in Havrick's white Jeep Liberty.
When asked who would have known about the gun safe, one of the children said he was talking with Bostic about the safe a day or two before the shooting took place.
He told Bostic the safe contained firearms his father, Havrick's husband, owned.
Video footage in the area confirmed the older daughter arrived at Havrick's home earlier in the day on January 2 in a silver Ford Fusion.
Footage then shows her leaving Havrick's home around 8:30 p.m. in the white Jeep Liberty. The silver Ford Fusion is seen leaving the home at the same time.
The daughter told police that Bostic and another woman accompanied her when she visited Havrick on January 2.
The three arrived in a silver Ford Fusion that's registered to Erica Elie.
Video footage that captures an alley behind Ashland Avenue showed a silver Ford Fusion park in the alley and then leave the alley around the time of the 911 call on the night of the shooting.
Several minutes before the homicide, video footage from the apartment complex Elie lives at captured the Fusion pick up a man wearing all black.
The footage depicted a woman driving the Fusion and a man wearing gray or white clothing in the front passenger seat.
In an interview on January 7, Elie told police she was driving the Fusion on the evening of January 2 and that Bostic was the passenger.
However, she denied picking anyone up from the apartment complex or having any knowledge or involvement in the homicide, according to police.
She also denied taking Bostic and a second man to and from Havrick's home after 11 p.m. on January 2, reports said.
In an interview on January 7, Bostic told police he was the passenger in the Fusion while Elie drove it on the day of the shooting.
Bostic said they picked up Elie's cousin, later identified as Devon Briggs, from the apartment complex.
Briggs was wearing all black, he said.
Bostic further told officers he and Briggs went to Havrick's home on Ashland Avenue with the intent of robbing Havrick of the guns located in the safe, reports said.
He said they broke into the home while wearing masks and held Havrick and her two children at gunpoint, according to reports.
Bostic said he pistol-whipped Havrick when she wouldn't open the safe and then shot her multiple times with a .22 caliber pistol when she tried to fight back, reports said.
Bostic then ran from the home and got into the Fusion, where Elie then drove away, police reported.
While he did not tell Elie about the plan before the shooting, Bostic told Elie what happened as they drove away from the home, reports said.
Elie continued to drive away from the scene even after being told of the crime, according to Bostic.
He told police he dismantled and destroyed the gun he used but did not say where he put it, police said.
On January 9, Briggs was interviewed and told police that on January 2, he was picked up by his cousin, Elie, and her boyfriend whom he didn't know, Bostic.
Elie called Briggs before she picked him up, Briggs said.
Briggs said the plan was to get the woman in the house to open the gun safe, which allegedly contained guns and money, reports said.
Elie parked in the alley and Briggs and Bostic went inside wearing masks, Briggs said.
However, Briggs said he was carrying a fake handgun and that Bostic had a real gun, according to reports.
Briggs told officers he was supposed to tell the woman to open the safe for them.
The woman, identified as Havrick, allegedly told the men she couldn't open the safe because only her husband knew the combination and he was away in Iraq.
Briggs said Bostic began pistol whipping the woman and then shot her, according to police.
In response, Briggs ran out of the house and got into the vehicle.
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Bostic is being held without bond at the St. Joseph County Jail.
Briggs is being held at the St. Joseph County Jail and will be arraigned on Thursday.
Elie is being held on a $3,000 bond at the St. Joseph County Jail.
In honor of Havrick, her family is encouraging memorial donations to the Logan Center or another facility that supports individuals with special needs.
Trees can also be planted in her honor, according to her obituary.
Benchmark Human Services, where Havrick worked for over 15 years, sent ABC57 the following statement:
"Benchmark is deeply saddened by the tragic death of Rachel Havrick. Rachel began working for our organization in 2005 and held various positions. She was a pleasure to work with and very much cared for the individuals we serve. Our hearts are with her family and friends as they grieve her loss."