FOX59/CBS4 has requested a mugshot of Tia Smith. This article will be updated once it's released.
INDIANAPOLIS — An Indy woman allegedly knocked her boyfriend Clevester Brown Jr. out of his wheelchair earlier this year on the city's northeast side before fatally shooting him in the head during an argument.
Tia Smith, 43, was arrested by IMPD two weeks ago and booked into jail on a preliminary felony murder charge. The charge stems from the death of Brown Jr., a 51-year-old man who went by Ernie, who was shot and killed in February at the Towne and Terrace Apartments.
IMPD crews were called around 6 a.m. on Feb. 12 to the 4100 block of North Brentwood Drive after a caller reported finding a dead body. They arrived to find an adult male lying in a pool of blood on the ground next to a sofa.
The dead man was identified as Brown Jr. by the Marion County Coroner, who ruled his death a homicide by a gunshot wound to the head. A .380 caliber fired cartridge was later found on the ground near Brown Jr.'s body, IMPD said.
Court records detail how detectives spoke with various witnesses who identified Smith as a possible suspect. Several people said Smith was Brown Jr.'s girlfriend, that she could be aggressive with him and that she always carried a handgun.
One witness described being inside an abandoned apartment with Smith and Brown Jr. on the day of the shooting. They reportedly told police that Smith was being aggressive with Brown Jr., who suffered from paraplegia and used a wheelchair.
The witness told police they saw Smith yelling at and arguing with Brown Jr. and said that at one point she knocked him out of his wheelchair and onto the floor. Brown Jr. reportedly asked Smith not to hit him anymore, which she replied to by calling him a "b***h and a f*g."
Several people reportedly heard Smith yelling at Brown Jr. about how he had shot her previously. IMPD said that Brown Jr. reportedly had shot Smith three times in Oct. 2021.
The arguing between the couple went on all night, witnesses told police. At a certain point, there was reportedly a loud boom, followed by Smith running out of the apartment.
"Ernie's dead. I shot him on accident," bystanders quoted Smith as saying.
After several people reportedly identified Smith out of a photo lineup as the shooter, a warrant was issued for her arrest. Then, on Sept. 11, 2024, IMPD and US Marshalls located and arrested Smith for her alleged role in Brown Jr.'s homicide.
Smith has since been booked into the Marion County Adult Detention Center on a felony murder charge where she is being held with no bond. The County Prosecutor's Office will soon make the final charging decisions.
Online court records show that Smith has a pretrial conference scheduled for Nov. 11 in Marion Superior Court 29 before her jury trial begins the next week on Nov. 19.
Smith has a lengthy criminal history in Indiana that includes past charges of cocaine and narcotics possession, disorderly conduct, resisting law enforcement and various traffic violations such as driving while suspended.