***MEDIA ADVISORY***

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 12, 2016

MURDER DEFENDANT ON THE RUN SINCE 2013 APPREHENDED IN MINNESOTA

Media Contact: Curtis T. Hill, Jr. (574) 296-1888

Prosecuting Attorney Curtis T. Hill, Jr., filed formal charges of Murder in April of 2014 against Antonio Walters and Thomas Harper for their roles in the murder of Devonte Patrick in December of 2013. Patrick was found in a vehicle near the vicinity of Prairie Street and Indiana Avenue in Elkhart after he had been shot and left for dead during an alleged drug robbery.

Upon the filing of formal charges, an arrest warrant was issued which had remained outstanding. The Elkhart Police Department and the United States Marshal’s Service have been working in conjunction with each other, and other law enforcement agencies in Northwestern Indiana, Illinois and Minnesota, in attempts to apprehend Walters.

Walters was believed to have been using an alias name and other identifying information to elude capture. However, Walters is believed to have been arrested in Minnesota on Friday, September 9, 2016, and will be detained in Minnesota until positive identification is confirmed and extradition proceedings are held. Upon Walters’ return to Indiana, the case will proceed in the Elkhart Circuit Court.

Thomas Harper, Walters’ co-defendant, pled guilty to Murder in January, 2016, for which he was sentenced to sixty (60) years at the Indiana Department of Correction.

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“Under Indiana law, all persons arrested for a criminal offense are innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.”