20-year-old convicted of murder of man in backyard during 2022 party
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man was convicted Wednesday in the 2022 murder of a 23-year-old man in the backyard of a home during a party, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said Thursday.
Payton Wilson died after he was found just after 2 a.m. June 30, 2022, with multiple gunshot wounds in the backyard of a home in the 1000 block of Harlan Street. That’s off of Prospect Street near Keystone Avenue, not far from Fountain Square.
Braven Harris was convicted of murder after a three-day trial, the prosecutor’s office says. Online jail records say Harris is 20, which would mean he was 18 when the shooting happened.
His sentencing was set for 9 a.m. Feb. 9 in Marion Superior Court 28.
IMPD announced the arrest of Harris in September 2022.
A news release from the prosecutor’s office says investigators spoke with witnesses who were at the home for a party. They saw Wilson speak with Harris and another man in the backyard before Wilson asked them to leave. As the two began to walk away, shots were fired, and Wilson fell to the ground.
A search warrant for Harris’ social media accounts provided information that he’d discussed the shooting, noting he’d need to “leave town” and “get a new phone,” the release says.
“Payton was described by many who knew him as generous and loyal,” Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in the release. “Today, we are grateful for witness cooperation that ultimately led to justice for Payton and his loved ones. Our thoughts remain with them during this difficult time.”
Harris on Thursday afternoon remained in the Marion County jail.
