Bloomington Police Had a Murder Suspect in Custody in Eight Minutes. Now the Case Lands With a Prosecutor Who Has No Opponent This Fall.

Jaymon Trey Gilreath, 23, of Bloomington, in a booking photo from the Monroe County jail. Photo: Monroe County Sheriff's Office (via WFIU/WTIU News)

Eight minutes.

That is how long it took, by the Bloomington Police Department's own account, to go from the first 911 calls about a man shot on a porch to a suspect in handcuffs. Callers reported the shooting in the 1000 block of North Illinois Street at about 8:15 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, and told dispatchers the shooter was walking east on West 13th Street. At 8:23 p.m., officers had him, according to a police news release from Capt. Ryan Pedigo.

The man police took into custody is Jaymon Trey Gilreath, 23, of Bloomington. He was booked into the Monroe County Jail on a murder charge, police said, and WBIW reported that he was charged with murder on Friday. A murder charge is an accusation, not a verdict. Gilreath is presumed innocent, and WFIU/WTIU reported Friday that it was not immediately clear whether he had a lawyer.

What police say happened on the porch

According to the release, a 24-year-old man was sitting on the front porch of a residence with another man when Gilreath approached on foot. The man on the porch told officers he watched Gilreath pull a handgun from his waistline, shoot his companion in the head, then turn and walk away.

Officers found the wounded man near the front door of an apartment. He was taken by ambulance to IU Health Bloomington Hospital and declared dead at 9:49 p.m. Police did not release his name. WBIW identified him as Noah Slinkard.

Witnesses and others at the scene told officers that Gilreath believed the victim was in a relationship with Gilreath's ex-girlfriend, police said. That is what people told investigators, not a finding by any court, and no motive has been tested in front of a judge or jury.

Retracing the route Gilreath walked after the shooting, investigators found a 9mm handgun in a holster near a park bench in the 1300 block of West 13th Street, beside Crestmont Park, WBIW reported. Police said they believe it is the gun used in the killing and seized it. After an interview with detectives, Gilreath was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation and then to the jail, The Bloomingtonian reported from the same release. Police did not say what prompted the evaluation.

The easy part is over

Give the people who did their jobs on Thursday night their due. Neighbors picked up the phone and told dispatchers which way the gunman went. Patrol officers moved on that tip and found him in minutes, before he could disappear. Detectives walked the route and recovered the weapon. Nobody had to wait for a task force or a tip line.

From here, the case belongs to Monroe County Prosecutor Erika Oliphant's office, which will decide what formal counts to file and whether to hold the line on them. Murder in Indiana carries 45 to 65 years in prison under Indiana Code 35-50-2-3, and the Indiana Constitution (Article 1, Section 17) allows a judge to deny bail outright in a murder case when the proof is evident or the presumption strong.

Oliphant, a Democrat, has run the office since 2019. She won her May primary with about 72 percent of the vote over Benjamin Arrington, and no Republican filed, so she is unopposed in November. After that primary, she told WFIU that she aims to reserve incarceration for violent and repeat offenders while expanding alternatives in cases where mental illness or substance use played a role.

Take her at her word. If incarceration is for violent offenders, a killing that police say was carried out with a single shot to the head, in front of a witness, over a romantic grudge, is exactly the case it exists for. The test is not the booking. It is whether the murder count survives plea talks, what sentence the state asks for if there is a conviction, and whether the victim's family is kept in the loop instead of finding out from a docket.

With no name on the ballot against her, Monroe County voters will not get to weigh in on how Oliphant's office handles cases like this one this fall. That leaves public attention as the only check, and the Hoosier Enquirer intends to supply some.

What we still don't know

Police said no further information was available after Friday's release. No initial hearing date, bail decision or formal charging document had been reported as of Sunday morning, and authorities have not said whether Gilreath has any prior criminal record. We will report each of those as they become public, including any change to the charge.

A 24-year-old went out to sit on a porch on a Thursday evening and did not come home. Bloomington's officers had the man they say did it in custody within minutes of the first call. Whether the rest of the system moves with the same seriousness is the story still to be written.

Written by Hoosiers, for Hoosiers.