A man found guilty in the 2022 fatal shooting of a Dutch soldier in downtown Indianapolis has been sentenced to more than 100 years in prison. 

Shamar Duncan was issued his 105-year prison term Monday in Marion Superior Court, bringing a conclusion to a case that Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears called “100% preventable.”  

“It’s once again a situation where it’s alcohol and guns and it leads to poor choices and you have a simple confrontation, which results in so many lives being forever altered,” Mears said outside the courtroom after the hearing.  

Duncan was found guilty last month of murder, attempted murder and aggravated battery following a five-day trial in connection with the Aug. 27, 2022 shooting death of 26-year-old Simmie Poetsema. Two of the Dutch man’s comrades were injured in the gunfire that erupted during a night out in the downtown bar district.  

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In a statement to the court, Duncan apologized and said he acted rashly in a moment of fear.

Witnesses told police the Dutch soldiers were walking back to their hotel from a club along Meridian Street when they were antagonized by Duncan and two people, according to court documents.   

Duncan bumped into them as they walked past, the Dutch soldier’s friends told police. Poetsema and others in the group tried to diffuse the tension but it turned into a fight. Eventually one of Duncan’s peers said he was “going to go get a strap,” an arrest affidavit said. 

The groups separated with Duncan’s group piling into a pickup and the soldiers returning to a downtown hotel. According to an arrest affidavit, the pickup started to drive off and then made a U-turn, accelerating to the front of the hotel. Witnesses said they then heard gunshots.  

Indianapolis police responding to the shooting at about 3:30 a.m. found the two injured soldiers and Poetsema shot in the head outside a hotel in the 100 block of South Meridian Street.  

Using videos from bystanders and surveillance footage, detectives found the pickup and identified Duncan as the shooter, according to the affidavit.  

The soldiers were visiting Indianapolis on a day off from training at Muscatatuck Urban Training Center in southeast Indiana. 

Contact IndyStar reporter Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com