Indy man arrested after woman found shot dead next to dumpster

INDIANAPOLIS — An Indianapolis man is being charged with murder after blood collected from his SUV linked him to a woman who was found dead beside a dumpster in August.

Wesley Clark Jr., 58, was officially charged with one count of murder on Tuesday.

According to court documents, 38-year-old Yolanda Shields was found dead near a dumpster on Aug. 4, 2024, outside a restaurant supply store in the 3300 block of N. Shadeland. Shields was pronounced dead shortly after police arrived at 3:30 p.m. An autopsy later revealed that Shields had been shot multiple times, including in her shoulder, chest and head.

Footage collected from the nearby Motor 8 Motel showed Shields walking through the parking lot and approaching a black Chevrolet Traverse SUV. The SUV exits the parking lot only to return shortly later. Shields enters the SUV and the vehicle drives away and never returns to the motel parking lot.

But the SUV does appear again, a few hours later, on surveillance footage from the restaurant supply store. In this footage, investigators said the SUV can be seen driving toward the dumpster area and then driving away 90 seconds later.

Police eventually traced the SUV to Clark after running the license plate number. When police pulled over the SUV on Aug. 12, officers noted there were blood smears inside on the front passenger’s side. A fired cartridge casing was also visible on the floorboard of the rear passenger seat.

Clark was driving the SUV when police pulled the vehicle over, and several passengers were inside the vehicle. Officers spoke to Clark and the others, with both Clark and another admitting that Clark had been at the Motor 8 Motel on the day Shields was found dead.

Clark was shown a photograph of Shields but claimed he did not recognize the woman, according to the court documents. Clark did allegedly admit to letting a female inside his SUV while he was at the motel, but claimed he dropped this unknown woman off at 42nd and Post.

Investigators asked Clark if anyone had been shot inside his SUV. He said no. They asked if anyone’s blood was in the SUV. He said no.

Court documents reveal that DNA swabs from Shields’ body and the interior of the SUV were collected by investigators. The results weren’t received until late January.

According to the DNA results, multiple swabs collected from Shields’ body revealed “very strong support” of Clark’s DNA profile. Blood found in Clark’s SUV also was a “very strong” match for Shields.

An arrest warrant for Clark was issued on March 11. He was taken into custody without incident the next day.

If convicted of murder, Clark faces up to 65 years in prison.