A vehicle on the side of the 4200 block of Lower Huntington Road in Fort Wayne was spotted by a passing motorist shortly after 5:30 a.m. on July 25, 2023. The driver inside was found unconscious and not breathing; responding officers began life-saving measures but the man was pronounced dead at the scene. He was identified as 40-year-old Dennis Dwayne Starr of Fort Wayne. An autopsy by the Allen County Coroner’s Office determined the cause of death was a gunshot wound to the chest and ruled the death a homicide, the city’s 15th homicide of 2023.

Police made multiple arrests in the days after the discovery. On July 26, Fort Wayne officers conducted a high-risk traffic stop and arrested 50-year-old Samuel Evans III and 25-year-old Lexus Evans. On July 27, two more suspects, 23-year-old Samuel Evans IV and 29-year-old Jesse Shears, were arrested in Gary and returned to Fort Wayne. All four were initially charged with murder. Lexus Evans, identified as Starr’s ex-girlfriend, sought dismissal of her murder charge alleging prosecutorial misconduct and insufficient evidence; an Allen County judge denied that motion. Samuel Evans III later pleaded guilty to battery resulting in serious bodily injury in a deal that dropped the murder charge against him.

Are there details about Starr’s movements before July 25, 2023, or witnesses who saw the vehicle on Lower Huntington Road that could help the investigation?