Indiana girl, 17, shot pizza delivery man dead during failed robbery attempt after luring him with fake order
LAFAYETTE, INDIANA: A 17-year-old girl from Indiana shot dead a pizza delivery man, a new father, after she lured him to an abandoned house with a fake pizza order, court documents state. The teenager, identified as Jaelynn Billups, reportedly attempted to rob 37-year-old Joshua Ungersma while he was delivering pizza. However, witnesses allege that the girl shot Ungersma when he asked someone to call the police.
Authorities found the father-of-one dead at North 16th Street on August 31, after reports of shots fired around 11.15 pm the night of the incident. Police reportedly also found the body of the teen's boyfriend, 19-year-old Alberto Vanmeter, lying near a Domino's pizza box, two drinks, and some cash. It is believed that Ungersma shot Vanmeter in self-defense after the teen's boyfriend attempted to rob him, Billups then allegedly shot the new father at point-blank range.
A witness of the shooting, Patrick Gibson, has reportedly claimed that Ungersma was uninjured after the first shots were heard and had told him that Vanmeter attempted to rob him, according to the Lafayette Journal & Courier. Gibson added that Billups then came running from across the street and shot Ungersma dead. Another witness of the tragedy also recounted that Ungersma had asked someone to call the cops before the teen shot him.
Officers said that when they arrived at the scene, Billups was standing over one of the victims and had phoned the cops alerting them of the shooting. Authorities also said that Ungersma, a Domino's Pizza delivery driver, was found with "a .38 S&W revolver in his pocket with the rounds fired," and had a permit to carry the weapon. When officials ordered Billups to show her hand, she reportedly threw a 9 mm handgun onto the sidewalk and was detained, WTHR reported. The teen was promptly arrested and charged with killing Joshua Ungersma in Tippecanoe Superior Court 2.
Another murder count was laid against her, where she was charged with causing Ungersma to kill Vanmeter. She was also charged with conspiracy to commit armed robbery, armed robbery, theft, pointing a firearm, and carrying a handgun without a license. She is currently being held without a bond. Billups' trial date has been set for February 23, 2021.
Ungersma reportedly worked a second job at a Domino's store on Greenbush Street in Lafayette. The outlet, in a statement, said that it is donating 75 percent of its sales through Friday, September 18, to his family. The owners of the store reportedly hope to raise nearly $15,000 for the Ungersma family to support their late employee's newborn.
The Domino's store owner, Jimmy Ruedlinger, in a statement, said: "We want to be able to do whatever we can for the family. We're a family here, and we're a team, and we're going to take care of whatever we can take care of at this point." Ungersma had also been working as a butcher at Payless Supermarket for the past 13 years. He is survived by his wife Jenny, stepson Logan Hindsley, and his six-month-old son Sebastian.