35-year-old found guilty of fatally shooting driver stopped at traffic light
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Marion County jury this week found a 35-year-old man from Lawrence guilty of the murder of a 22-year-old in 2022.
Keith Cole fatally shot Daniel Baxter on the night of Oct. 8, 2020, while he sat in a gray sedan at a stoplight at East 30th Street and North Keystone Avenue.
About 6:30 p.m. Oct. 2, 2022, an Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department patrol officer was at the intersection in a commercial and residential area on the city’s east side. The patrol officer, believing there had been a traffic accident, went up to a sedan and found Cole shot inside the car.
A news release issued Thursday from the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said, “Multiple witnesses at the scene cooperated with police and provided a description of the suspect’s vehicle and the firearm used in the shooting.”
“Prosecutors credit the cooperation of numerous civilian witnesses, law enforcement, and the crime lab for their contributions that led to this conviction.”
Video of the shooting shows Baxter’s car stopped at the light when a black Dodge Charger pulled up directly behind him. Cole exited the passenger side of the Charger, approached the back, passenger side of Baxter’s car, and fired five shots at the driver. Cole then returned to the Charger, which left the scene.
Video at Baxter’s apartment complex showed that the Charger had followed Baxter’s car from there to the traffic light, where the shooting happened about three minutes later.
Flock cameras, which record traffic and allow searches based on vehicle color and other visual features, helped police locate Cole, the release says.
“The vehicle had recently been involved in a police pursuit and Cole was one of the passengers in the vehicle during that incident,” the release said.
The jury convicted Cole on Wednesday. Online court records show Cole’s sentencing was set for 2 p.m. April 11 in Marion Superior Court 20. Cole remained in the Marion County jail on Thursday night.
