‘I forgive them’: Mom says she forgives men accused of shooting her son in the back and leaving him for dead

INDIANAPOLIS — The mother of a man who was murdered on the near east side said she has forgiven the two men who police believe shot him and left him to die in the middle of a neighborhood street.

On Monday, IMPD announced the arrests of Jaden Moreland and Michael Cantrell in the Feb. 25 killing of 28-year-old Cruize Hodge.

Hodge was found shot in the 400 block of Oakland Avenue and was pronounced dead shortly after arriving at a local hospital.

According to charging documents, several witnesses came forward and spoke with investigators about what they saw that night.

They told detectives Moreland and Cantrell showed up at a garage behind a home looking for Hodge. When Hodge showed up, the witnesses told police the pair pinned him up against a wall and pulled their guns on him.

They robbed Hodge of his wallets and phones and then pistol whipped him several times, according to court records. The witnesses told police the two then led Hodge down the driveway and into the street when they heard multiple gunshots.

When the witnesses went to see what had happened, they found Hodge lying in the street bleeding and coughing up blood. Moreland and Cantrell were gone.

In the charging documents, police revealed they found a bullet at the crime scene that they believe Hodge coughed up as he was gasping for air.

Police did not reveal a motive behind the killing but said they were able to make the arrests thanks to information from witnesses as well as cell phone data they claim puts Moreland and Cantrell near the scene of the crime.

“I would describe him as a beautiful spirit. He was always happy,” said Hodge’s mother Amber Bridwell.

On Monday, Bridwell said she was glad to hear that an arrest had been made in her son’s slaying. A devoutly religious woman, she’s had to lean heavily on her faith to get her through the past few weeks.

“Hurt people. Hurt people,” Bridwell said when talking about the suspects in her son’s case. “So you got to look at it as someone hurt them really bad.”

She has done what most parents might find unimaginable–she said she’s forgiven Cantrell and Moreland for their alleged role in her son’s murder. Despite the fact that she said the men were her son’s supposed friends, she believes Hodge would’ve wanted her to forgive them.

“I promise you Cruize would have said forgive them. For they know not what they do,” Bridwell said. “I don’t hate them you know. Jesus doesn’t hate them. So I forgive them and pray for their heart. Deeply I do from the bottom of my heart.”

While she may have forgiven, she has not forgotten. The family made it clear they want justice and most of all they want to see people stop killing one another.

On July 23, Bridwell’s nephew Brandon Sanchez was found shot to death outside of a home on the east side.

“It has to stop somewhere. I don’t think the Lord made us to be here to hate each other and shoot each other, you know, over little things,” Bridwell said. “It’s not worth it. It’s not that big of a deal that you can’t work it out to kill someone to take their life.”

Moreland and Cantrell are scheduled to make their first court appearances on Tuesday morning. They’re being held in the Marion County Jail without bond.