EVANSVILLE, Indiana – A warrant has been issued for an Evansville man in connection with the shooting death of a 34-year-old on New Year’s Day. Christopher Dion Boyd Jr., 32, has been preliminarily charged with murder for the killing of Jerry D. Hale. As of Tuesday afternoon, Boyd had not been arrested.
The shooting took place just after 5 a.m. on Monday in the 400 block of East Riverside Drive. According to an affidavit filed in the case, a 911 caller reported “there was a male shot in the head and that he was dead.” Officers later found Hale lying dead between the sidewalk and street.
Witnesses reported that staff at a nearby business had intervened in a fight between Hale and another customer, just before the shooting. Surveillance footage from inside the store showed staff breaking up the fight between Hale and a man in a light-colored hoodie, who is believed to be Boyd. The man in the hoodie “made his way quickly out the front door,” not long before Hale was walked outside by staff members.
Additional footage from outside the market confirmed that “Less than one minute after the victim was walked out the door by staff, the suspect in the light-colored hoodie can be seen approaching him from behind,” the affidavit states. “The suspect fired one shot, striking Hale in the back of the head. The suspect then flees on foot to the east.”
Police prepared a photo lineup of potential suspects, containing Boyd, after reportedly receiving multiple tips identifying him as the shooter. According to court records, Boyd was arrested in late November and was facing several charges, including attempting to sneak a firearm into the Vanderburgh County jail by hiding it inside his body.
The autopsy of Jerry D. Hale is scheduled for Friday, and the case is still under investigation.