Teen charged in triple murder arrested again on his 18th birthday
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A teenager who police say shot and killed two men and another teen last year, is once again under arrest.
Marion county jail records show 18-year-old Caden Smith was taken into custody in Indianapolis on Wednesday for invasion of privacy and marijuana-related charges.
Smith was already facing charges for a triple homicide that happened on the city’s south side in October of 2021. Online court records show Smith was released from jail in October of 2022 with a GPS monitor. The state was in the process of appealing the judge’s decision when Smith was arrested again.
On Oct. 12, 2021, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officer found the victims on a path surrounded by tall grass near the 4400 block of South Meridian Street.
Smith was 16 years old at the time and charged as an adult for the shooting deaths of 22-year-old Michael James, 17-year-old Abdullah Mubarak, and 18-year-old Joseph Thomas.
The prosecutor’s office said Smith faces the following charges for the 2021 case:
- Three counts of murder
- Three counts of felony murder
- Three counts of robbery resulting in serious bodily injury
- Dangerous possession of a machine gun
- Dangerous possession of a firearm
- Possession of methamphetamine
- Possession of marijuana
- Resisting law enforcement
All three victims were shot multiple times, and several shell casings were found near their bodies.
Online court records show that Smith was released with a GPS monitor on Oct.14, 2022.
On Nov. 23, 2022, Smith was charged and arrested for possession of marijuana, dealing in marijuana, and invasion of privacy, according to online jail records. Those same records show that the arrest was made on Smith’s 18th birthday. According to Marion County online court records, a warrant was issued for his arrest Thursday for a pretrial violation, after Smith was already in custody.
Smith’s lawyer, Andrew Baldwin is also representing Richard Allen, 50, who has been charged in the Delphi murders of 13-year-old Abigail “Abby” Williams and 14-year-old Liberty “Libby” German in February of 2017.
Smith is in the Marion County Jail being held without bond with a court date scheduled for Tuesday.
