On the night of August 2, 2017, gunfire erupted near Lincolnway and Frederickson in South Bend. Police were directed to a Frederickson Street house and found 29-year-old Damon Bethel dead of gunshot wounds in the garage; another man, Joshua Sage, was wounded and taken to the hospital. The shooting spilled onto the street when an SUV fled, later crashing into a home several blocks away. The SUV’s driver, Anton James, was pronounced dead at the scene and a passenger, Alyssa Sanchez, was hospitalized with a gunshot wound to the head.

Investigators recovered several firearms and about two pounds of methamphetamine at the Frederickson Street house. Surveillance video and witness accounts described a drug deal gone wrong: Jesus Pedraza allegedly arranged to buy a large quantity of meth for $10,000 he reportedly did not have, and a witness said Damon Bethel entered the garage with a gun and began shooting before a transaction occurred. In the melee Bethel and Sage shot each other.

Multiple people were charged in connection with the incident. Benito Pedraza and Jesus Pedraza were found guilty of two counts of murder and given concurrent 60-year sentences; others faced charges including murder, attempted robbery, and meth trafficking.