Jury finds man guilty of fatally shooting his cousin

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — After a three-day trial, a jury on Thursday found an Indianapolis man guilty of the December 2022 murder of his cousin.

Emmanuel Lee Newman was convicted in the shooting death of Joshua Hopson, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office says.

Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department on Jan. 5, 2023, arrested Newman, 40, for the Dec. 28, 2022, murder of Hopson, 31, at The Lodge Apartments in the 3400 block of Alsuda Court. That’s off East Fall Creek Parkway north of East 46th Street on the city’s northeast side.

The Prosecutor’s Office says Hopson’s girlfriend told the jury that he arguing with Newman before the shooting. She said Newman left but returned a short time later. Hopson then went outside and, as she followed behind, she heard multiple gunshots, and Hopson fell to the ground. Newman then ran from the scene.

Surveillance video and a private camera’s recording captured Newman carrying a rifle as he approached Hopson, and firing at him multiple times. “He then steps over him and fires more shots directly at him before fleeing in his vehicle,” said a news release issued Thursday from the Prosecutor’s Office.

According to online court records, Marion County prosecutors charged Newman with domestic battery and intimidation in January 2022; those charges were later dismissed. In 2018, a jury found Newman not guilty of attempted murder.

The online records from Marion Superior Court 29 for Newman’s Thursday conviction did not list a sentencing date.

Statement

“This type of violence among family members is horrific and unsettling. The defendant allowed a simple dispute to escalate, and now he and this family will be grappling with the devastating consequences for years to come. We are grateful that the jury came to this resolution and our thoughts are with the family as we approach the sentencing portion of the proceedings.”

Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears