Johnnie Grubb IV, a 44-year-old White man, was a self-employed mechanic known for his intelligence and his willingness to always help friends. Remembered as funny and loving, he was an expert on cars who ran his own business, Johnys Auto, in Bedford, Indiana.
On the late morning of May 18, 2024, Grubb’s life was cut short when gunfire erupted on Sunny Acres Lane. He was found fatally wounded inside his residence, while another man, 49-year-old Jeffery Crane of Mitchell, was discovered with critical injuries in the garage. Both men were rushed to IU Health Bedford Hospital, where Grubb was pronounced dead. Crane, who had been shot in the chest and leg, was airlifted to a hospital in Louisville for emergency surgery.
The investigation into the shooting, which authorities said was captured on surveillance video, quickly pointed to two men who had fled the scene.
By tracking a vehicle and pinging a cell phone, law enforcement traced the suspects to the Unionville area in Monroe County. Police later conducted a traffic stop on the State Road 45/46 bypass and arrested 36-year-old Timothy Brian Helton of Camby. Inside the vehicle, under the passenger seat, officers found a loaded 9mm handgun believed to be the murder weapon.
A second man, 29-year-old Christopher Cecil, was located and arrested later in Greene County, though his arrest was for an outstanding warrant and a new charge of methamphetamine possession. According to police, the shooting stemmed from an ongoing dispute. Grubb’s fiancée told investigators that two men had tried to steal their four-wheeler a couple of weeks earlier and that one of them had pulled a gun on Crane during that incident.
In his statement to police, Helton admitted he was under the influence of methamphetamine during the shooting and claimed he felt threatened. He said that after Grubb made a comment about his firearm, he drew his weapon and started firing, but maintained that he did not aim specifically at Grubb.
Helton was charged with murder, attempted murder, criminal recklessness, pointing a loaded firearm, and carrying a firearm without a license. Christopher Cecil was not charged in connection with the shooting. In March 2025, a jury found Timothy Brian Helton guilty of murder and attempted murder. Two months later, in May 2025, he was sentenced to 120 years in prison.
