INDIANAPOLIS — Police have made an arrest in the case of a victim hit by gunfire while driving on I-79 near Shadeland Avenue in Indianapolis on Saturday.
State police were contacted by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department about the case. After speaking with the victim at the hospital, detectives began analyzing information to include data from Flock traffic cameras, and surveillance footage from a business.
Detectives were able to identify a suspect vehicle and subsequently a suspect who they believed was involved in the shooting incident. The vehicle was located by officers from the Franklin Police Department at a hotel in Franklin. Probable cause was developed and a search warrant for a hotel room in Franklin and the suspect vehicle was requested and granted by a Marion County Judge. I
In the overnight hours Monday, Indiana State Police detectives, along with ISP SWAT, conducted a search of the hotel room and impounded the suspect vehicle. Detectives were able to develop probable cause to arrest Ernesto Espinoza, 24, of Donna, Texas. He was incarcerated at the Marion County Jail on preliminary charges of attempted murder, state police said.
In 2023, troopers in the Indianapolis District investigated 56 incidents of gunfire on Indianapolis area interstates. In that same area, troopers investigated an additional 236 incidents of road rage where a gun was reported to be pointed or displayed. This incident is the fourth incident in 2024 of shots being fired on the interstate. The Indiana State Police would like to strongly discourage motorists from engaging in any type of road rage as we are seeing these incidents lead to violence.
The arrest in this case was based upon probable cause, the charges listed are preliminary. Actual charges in this case will be determined by the Marion County Prosecutor’s Office. All suspects are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty in court.
