Indy man charged with shooting into home 5 days after taking plea deal in gang activity case

INDIANAPOLIS — Felony charges have been filed against a 19-year-old accused of shooting at a rival gang member’s home on Indy’s near west side, just five days after taking a plea deal in another criminal case.

The violence stems from an ongoing gang rivalry in the Haughville neighborhood of Indianapolis. Following a lengthy investigation into numerous gang-related acts of violence, several members of the Taliban Choppa Gang were rounded up and arrested last November.

One of those suspects was then-18-year-old Hector Suarez, who was suspected of taking part in violence involving the sale of marijuana vapes at Arsenal Tech High School. Police say Suarez and other gang members frequently posed with guns and illegally sold weapons and drugs.

Court records show a now 19-year-old Suarez pleaded guilty to low-level drug dealing charges in exchange for the more serious criminal gang activity charge being dismissed on July 28. After that plea deal, he was placed on probation and given a GPS monitor.

While wearing his ankle monitor just five days after taking the plea deal, Suarez allegedly drove to a home near 10th Street and King Road on Aug. 2. Early that morning, more than a dozen gunshots were fired into the house. Police say his monitor put him at the scene of the crime.

The case illustrates a frustration some in law enforcement have with the court system in Marion County.

“It’s insane and you have people being victimized as a result of it,” said Indy FOP President Rick Snyder.

Snyder said these cases show how offenders like Suarez, now accused of criminal recklessness, simply don’t fear that the court system will hold them accountable.

“It just further proves the point that the revolving door is the biggest contributor to deadly violence we have in our city,” said Snyder.

The home Suarez allegedly targeted belongs to the family of Erick Amaro.

Amaro was charged in March, along with eight others, for their alleged involvement in criminal gang activity as part of a group called SUR13. The gang is a violent rival to the Taliban Choppa Gang in the Haughville neighborhood.

The SUR13 gang is responsible for numerous incidents of vandalism and other acts of violence in the same neighborhood. Amaro remains in jail awaiting trial.

Online jail records indicate that Suarez was arrested Friday on an active warrant. As part of his arrest warrant, Suarez will be held for seven days without bond before an initial hearing is held.