Man sentenced to 45 years in prison for neighbor’s 2018 murder
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — An Indianapolis man was sentenced Wednesday to 45 years in prison for fatally shooting his neighbor in 2018, the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office said.
A judge on May 27 found Perise Fowler, 46, guilty of murdering his neighbor Byron Miller, 39. Fowler was convicted of murder and two counts of battery.
Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were called to a report of a person shot in the early morning hours of Oct. 23, 2018, to the 500 block of North Rural Street. Officers found Miller on the sidewalk suffering from gunshot wounds to the chest.
Witnesses told police a verbal dispute between Fowler and Miller led to Miller’s death. Miller confronted Fowler for assaulting his girlfriend earlier in the day, the prosecutor’s office said.
Fowler fled the scene after the shooting, and investigators found the murder weapon inside a doghouse in the backyard of a home in the area where Fowler stayed.
He was later arrested in December 2018 when he was found in Alabama.
“Far too often guns are unnecessarily introduced into arguments and have tragic and far-reaching consequences. This sentence demonstrates a commitment to justice and accountability, though no resolution can truly remedy the pain of losing a loved one and the impact on the community.”
Ryan Mears, Marion County prosecutor
