Jalen Pickens was 17 when he was killed in Gary, Indiana, in the early hours of May 6, 2020. He was at a residence in the 3200 block of E. 12th Avenue and reportedly asleep on a sofa just before 1 a.m. when he sustained a fatal gunshot wound to the head.

Court documents summarize witness accounts that another 17-year-old, Isaiah Johnson, was handling an AK-style pistol, disengaged the safety, aimed the weapon at the sleeping Jalen, and pulled the trigger. Witnesses said Johnson initially laughed after the shot and then began to cry. The firearm had been loaned to a witness by a third party and was later recovered by police.

Johnson was charged with murder on May 20, 2020, later pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter on August 23, 2020, and in December 2021 was sentenced to nine years in prison with two years credited for time served.