Witnesses describe 2021 killing of Jermey Dumas; co-defendant IDs the shooter

LAFAYETTE, Ind. ― Aspen Taylor saw someone in a silver sedan shoot Jermey Dumas late Aug. 31, 2021, and she stopped to help as the shooter sped away.

Twenty-four-year-old Dumas rode his bike out of Spring Gardens Apartments about 10:40 p.m. and turned west onto Teal Road. He had his left hand on the handlebars and held a cup that presumably held a soft drink. Taylor noticed muzzle flashes coming from the car in front of her and saw Dumas fall from the bike.

“I witnessed three or four shots come out of the passenger-side window,” Taylor testified Tuesday in Bruce Alexander Jr.'s murder trial.

Taylor estimated she was two car lengths behind the silver car. Co-defendant Willie James III testified Tuesday that he was driving that car when Alexander shot Dumas.

“It was one of those moments when you don’t know what to do,” Taylor testified about her reaction to seeing Dumas shot and watching the shooter turn north onto Old Romney Road and speed away.

Taylor turned into the Huston Electric parking lot near where Dumas fell. She was uncertain whether it was safe to approach Dumas.

“My first response was to see if I could help, not call 911,” Taylor testified. “I called out from my passenger side window and asked if he’d been hurt. He said, ‘Yes, ma’am, I have.'”

She got out of her car and heard sirens approaching the area, so she didn't call 911.

In fact, Dumas already called 911, which jurors heard Tuesday morning. So had five other people, and jurors also heard those 911 recordings.

"I'm near Romney Meadows, and I was shot," Dumas said when 911 dispatchers answered. "Help me."

On the 911 audio ― and later on police body camera video ― Dumas can be heard groaning, crying and wincing from his pain.

Calling for someone to help him, Dumas' life seemed to ebb from him, and he began to say he couldn't breathe as police tried to stabilize him.

"He's yelling for help, my husband said," one 911 caller told dispatchers.

Dumas suffered multiple gunshots, but the one that killed him was a bullet that passed through his midsection, the Tippecanoe County coroner said on Sept. 2, 2021. The forensic pathologist who performed the autopsy, Dr. Darin Wolfe, is expected to testify Tuesday afternoon.

James testified late Tuesday morning that he was the driver of the car. James and Charlie Moore, Alexander's girlfriend, also are charged with murder for Dumas' killing.

Prosecutors told jurors in opening statements that there was some sort of disturbance near an apartment rented by Moore's mother. Moore called Alexander asking for help.

Alexander called James and persuaded him to give him a ride to Garden Springs, said James, who received limited immunity to testify against Alexander. But when they arrived at the apartment complex, James testified he parked just outside of the complex, as per Alexander's instructions.

When Dumas passed them riding a bike, James and Alexander pulled out and followed him, James testified, claiming he did not know that Alexander was going to shoot Dumas.

James testified he moved to New York state shortly after the shootings and stayed there for about eight months. He said Alexander fled to Ohio.

After learning that police were looking for him, James called Lafayette police and gave them a statement, he testified.

James' murder trial is scheduled to begin Nov. 19.

Dumas' killing was the crescendo of Alexander's 12-day crime spree in Lafayette, according to prosecutors.

More: Lafayette police investigate Friday's double shooting on Central Street

Alexander also faces various charges related to an Aug. 19, 2021, robbery. He also faces attempted murder charges and battery charges for the Aug. 20 shooting of two men in the 2400 block of Central Street.

Alexander, who was 19 at the time of the murder, is now 21. He faces between 45 and 65 years in prison if he's convicted of murder.

If convicted of the attempted murder charges, Alexander faces an additional 20 to 40 years in prison. If convicted of the Level 3 felony robbery charge, Alexander faces an additional three to 16 years in prison.

Reach Ron Wilkins at rwilkins@jconline.com. Follow on Twitter: @RonWilkins2.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Witnesses describe 2021 killing of Jermey Dumas; co-defendant IDs the shooter