Derrick Merrill Dye Jr.

Derrick Merrill Dye Jr., a 32-year-old Black man, was remembered by his family as a funny, loving, and caring person who was deeply family-oriented. His life was cut short in the early hours of Sunday, February 11, 2024, in Evansville, Indiana. At approximately 3:11 a.m. outside the Ponytails strip club on Columbia Street, Dye was approached by another man. Surveillance video from the scene captured the two men wrestling briefly before a single gunshot was fired and Dye fell to the ground.

A caller informed dispatch that a man had been shot in the heart. Emergency responders transported Dye to Deaconess Midtown Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The Vanderburgh County Coroner’s Office later conducted an autopsy, which confirmed that Dye died from a gunshot wound to the chest. His death was officially ruled a homicide.

The Evansville Police Department launched an investigation, using witness descriptions of the suspect and his vehicle, surveillance footage, and data from flock cameras. This evidence led them to identify 27-year-old Zachary Chavon Diaz as the suspect. Later that same Sunday evening, officers located Diaz in the 2800 block of Ravenswood Drive and took him into custody. He was booked into the Vanderburgh County Confinement Center and was preliminarily charged with murder.

The murder charge against Diaz was eventually dropped to reckless homicide. His case went to trial in September 2024, and a jury in Vanderburgh Superior Court found him guilty of reckless homicide, a Level 5 felony. In November 2024, Judge Robert Pigman sentenced Diaz, then 28, to a total of 20 years in prison. The sentence consisted of five years for the reckless homicide conviction, with an additional 15-year firearm enhancement to be served consecutively. Diaz was given credit for 278 days already served in jail.