Justin Laster

On the evening of January 20, 2021, a workplace dispute at an insulation manufacturing plant in Indianapolis, Indiana, turned deadly. Justin Laster, a 42-year-old Black man, was at his job at PSC Industries, located at 6790 E. 32nd St. on the city’s east side.

Just before 7 p.m., Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were dispatched to the facility for a report of shots fired. Investigators determined that a fight had broken out between Laster and another employee, which ended in gunfire. When first responders arrived, they found Laster inside the plant suffering from what the Marion County Coroner’s Office later confirmed were multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

The shooter, also an employee, fled the factory immediately after the incident. Police interviewed multiple employees who were present at the time of the shooting. The investigation quickly led authorities to identify a suspect, Laster's coworker Jacob Spivey-Martin.

Following his arrest, Jacob Spivey-Martin was charged with murder in the death of Justin Laster. The case proceeded through the court system, and Spivey-Martin was ultimately found guilty but mentally ill of murder.