On March 28, 2023, in Lafayette, Indiana, 16-month-old Isiah Johnson, a Black male, was fatally shot inside his family apartment at the Romney Meadows complex. The firearm was discovered and fired by his 5-year-old brother. At the time, the children’s father, 27-year-old Deonta Jermaine Johnson, was reportedly asleep in the apartment and the mother, 24-year-old Shatia Tiara Welch, was not present.

Police who investigated the scene reported finding about 93 fentanyl pills, roughly 400 grams of marijuana and drug paraphernalia in the apartment. Toxicology testing showed marijuana in Isiah’s system and the 5-year-old tested positive for cocaine. Surveillance video captured Deonta Johnson moving an item from the apartment to a car just before officers arrived; that item was later identified as the marijuana. Welch told investigators the handgun belonged to her and had been kept in a lockbox, but she said she had misplaced the keys.

Both Deonta Jermaine Johnson and Shatia Tiara Welch were arrested and face multiple felony charges including neglect of a dependent resulting in death, neglect of a dependent resulting in bodily injury, and drug offenses; Johnson also faces an obstruction of justice charge. The matter has been sent to the Tippecanoe County Prosecutor’s Office for review. Did anyone in the Romney Meadows area see or hear anything that night that could help clarify what happened?