Prosecutors say an alleged plan to rob someone of a gun brought several people together before 16-year-old Jamell Williams was killed.
INDIANAPOLIS, IN — Two young men have been charged with felony murder in the May shooting death of a 16-year-old North Central High School student after investigators said the killing grew out of an alleged robbery plan involving a firearm.
Chaylon Suttles, 17, and Adryss Bailey, 19, were charged in connection with the death of Jamell Williams, who was shot May 24 outside an apartment complex in the 5700 block of Renn Lane on Indianapolis’ northwest side. Authorities have said neither Suttles nor Bailey is accused of firing the shot that killed Williams. The charges are allegations, and prosecutors must prove them in court.
Police were called to Renn Lane at about 7:45 p.m. May 24 after receiving a report of a shooting. Officers found Williams suffering from gunshot wounds, and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Williams was a student at North Central High School, where school athletic records listed him as a sophomore on the wrestling roster during the 2025-26 school year.
Court records made public this week describe an encounter involving several people and competing plans surrounding a gun. Prosecutors allege Suttles helped arrange a robbery at the apartment complex involving the firearm and possibly as much as $1,000. The records indicate roughly half a dozen people became involved in the events leading up to the shooting.
Investigators allege Bailey was paid $20 to drive Williams to the apartment complex. During the encounter, according to court records described in local reports, one person handed a firearm to another person who already had a gun. That person then shot Williams. Authorities have not publicly identified that alleged shooter in the information released with the new charges.
The felony murder charges do not mean prosecutors are alleging that Suttles or Bailey personally fired the fatal shot. Under the prosecution’s theory, they can be held criminally responsible if the state proves Williams died during the commission or attempted commission of a felony in which they participated. Whether prosecutors can prove those allegations will be decided through the court process.
Suttles is being prosecuted as an adult and was being held without bond after his arrest, according to local court and jail reporting. A warrant had been issued for Bailey, who also has been identified in reporting as Montez Goodman. Authorities said Bailey would be held without bond after his arrest. Information reviewed for this report did not establish that Bailey had entered a plea or identify an attorney speaking on his behalf.
The charges follow a roughly three-month investigation into Williams’ death. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officials had initially released few details about possible suspects, and investigators said additional people could have been involved. Portions of the case were kept sealed while detectives continued investigating the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
Williams’ death also drew attention to violence involving young people in Indianapolis. WRTV reported after the shooting that Williams was the city’s fifth teenage homicide victim of 2026 at that point in the year, according to police records. The same report said Indianapolis had recorded 23 nonfatal teenage shooting victims by late May, compared with 22 during the same period in 2025.
The investigation remains active, and authorities have indicated additional arrests are possible. Suttles and Bailey have not been convicted in Williams’ death, and key questions remain about the roles of others who investigators say were present and the identity of the person accused of firing the fatal shot.
Author note: Last updated Aug. 30, 2026.