Prosecutors to seek death penalty for Plainfield double murder suspect
PLAINFIELD, Ind. (WISH) — Hendricks County prosecutors will seek the death penalty for an Indianapolis man accused of a 2022 double murder in Plainfield.
Prosecutors say Dalonny Rodgers, 30, shot and killed Jose Valera, 34, and Alfredo Garcia, 52, while staying at the White House Suites hotel in Plainfield on Sept. 10, 2022.
Court documents say on the night of September 10, Rodgers and his girlfriend got into an argument in the hotel parking lot. After the argument, the girlfriend left, leaving Rodgers at the hotel. Then, Rodgers suddenly pulled out a gun and shot at a group of men standing by a shed on hotel property multiple times.
Valera and Garcia were fatally shot during the incident. Two other men, Luis Balcarcel and Marlon Catalan, were also shot several times but survived, prosecutors say.
Following the shooting, Rodgers stole Garcia’s car and fled from the scene. He wasn’t arrested until Dec. 14, 2023, after being located by police in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, during a stolen vehicle investigation. He was extradited to Indiana in February.
Hendricks County Prosecutor Loren Delp said in a release that Rodgers’ case is the first time the office has sought the death penalty.
“In the state of Indiana, the death penalty is reserved for the rarest of homicide cases. It is a decision that must not be taken lightly. Our office’s review of the facts of the case and the law, including possible mitigating and aggravating circumstances, supports the filing of the death penalty in this case. Ultimately, that decision will be up to a jury,” Delp said.
If granted, Rodgers will be the first death penalty execution in Indiana since 2009.
Rodgers’ jury trial was set to begin Dec. 3, 2024.
