Indianapolis, IN
Indianapolis rocked by mistaken identity shooting of paperboy in 1980s
There was no warning before the gunshot was fired from within the house. Inside, an armed homeowner believed they’d thwarted a crime. Feet away, a loved one watched as their family member died, the light low before sunrise.
That was the case on Nov. 5, 2025, as it also was on Sept. 25, 1986. Nearly four decades before the death of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, a high school junior mistaken for a vandal was fatally shot while delivering The Indianapolis Star on his early morning paper route.
The killing of Scott “Patrick” Lawson, 16, drew national headlines. As the teen approached a northside home to deliver the morning paper, 74-year-old Nokomis Toombs fired a shotgun through his living room window, striking Lawson in the chest. Lawson’s mother, who was helping her son out that morning, was parked feet away.
Toombs told police he’d been keeping an all-night vigil after a rash of youth violence near his home in the 5200 block of North Rosslyn Avenue north of the Indiana Fairgrounds. When Lawson approached his home at about 4:45 a.m., Toombs believed he was a neighborhood teen taking part in an ongoing harassment campaign. He did not give a warning before firing the gun, he told police.
Toombs had recently testified against three teens in a burglary case and feared retaliation, according to a Sept. 26, 1986, United Press International article.
About a month before Lawson’s death, police confiscated two guns from Toombs after he admitted to firing into a neighbor’s home. He said his own home had been fired upon first, and the guns were returned because Toombs had no criminal record.
Prosecutors soon learned that Toombs had not been home all night on Sept. 25, as he had claimed, and had instead been cut off at a bar only hours before the shooting – a fact that likely made the state’s case stronger.
Toombs was charged with murder within days of the shooting.
“I’m not convinced this was a case of a homeowner defending his home,” said Steve Goldsmith, Marion County’s then-prosecutor, according to an Associated Press article from Sept. 29, 1986.
Indiana law allows people to use reasonable force — including deadly force — to prevent an unlawful entry of their home, occupied motor vehicle or curtilage.
Toombs eventually pleaded guilty to reckless homicide. He was sentenced to eight years in prison in January 1987, serving two and a half after a sentence reduction and good time credit.
There are sharp differences between the two shootings, decades apart. Curt Andersen, the 62-year-old man charged in connection with the Nov. 5, 2025, shooting of Maria Florinda Ríos Pérez, who arrived at his home mistakenly thinking she had a cleaning job there, made no mention to police about previous break-ins or crime, according to court documents. There’s also no indication that investigators suspected Andersen of being under the influence at the time of the shooting.
On Nov. 17, Boone County Prosecutor Kent Eastwood announced a charge of voluntary manslaughter against Andersen. Guy Relford, Andersen’s attorney, indicated on social media that his defense will center around castle doctrine.
“Contrary to the contention of the prosecutor — and without discussing the specific facts of the case — we believe Mr. Andersen had every reason to believe his actions were absolutely necessary and fully justified at the time,” Relford wrote on X shortly after charges were announced.
Andersen’s initial hearing is scheduled for Nov. 21.
(This article will update.)
Ryan Murphy is the communities reporter for IndyStar. She can be reached at rhmurphy@indystar.com.
Indianapolis, IN
Saints open with road victory in Indianapolis
A three-run first inning propelled the St. Paul Saints to a 4-2 opening night victory in Indianapolis Friday night.
An Alan Roden single drove home Gabriel Gonzalez and Kaelen Culpepper before Eric Wagaman’s base knock plated Emmanuel Rodriguez to stake the visitors to a quick 3-0 edge three outs into the game.
The Indians scored a lone run in the bottom of the first, and St. Paul’s 3-1 advantage held until the fifth, when a Culpepper single scored Walker Jenkins with the Saints’ final tally of the night.
Indianapolis logged one more run in the bottom of the sixth. However, starting pitcher Connor Prielipp and five relievers held the hosts to four total hits. Raul Brito claimed the win with 2 2/3 innings of relief of Prielipp, who tossed four innings of one-hit, one-run ball with five strikeouts and two walks. Brito struck out four, while allowing three hits, one run and one walk. Matt Bowman tossed a clean ninth with one strikeout to earn the save.
The Saints and Indians face one another twice more this weekend: at 3:05 p.m. Saturday and 12:35 p.m. Sunday.
Indianapolis, IN
Cooler temps Friday with some afternoon sun, warmer weekend | March 27, 2026
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH-TV) – All of the rain has moved off to the south and east of us. Cooler temperatures have settled in and will be here through the first part of the weekend. We warm back up late in the weekend and into much of next week.
Moderate to heavy rain fell yesterday and into the overnight hours. Some locations across parts of Central Indiana picking up an inch or two of rainfall. This will definitely help where drought conditions are in place for northern sections of Indiana.
TODAY: We will hang on to you some cloud cover early this morning before more sunshine peeks out later in the afternoon. Look for breezy conditions with winds out of the North and Northeast gusting at times near 20 mph. Temperatures later this afternoon will be right around 48 degrees.
TONIGHT: If you are heading to the Pacers game or the home opener of the Indianapolis Indians you will not need the rain gear. Bring along the layers though because we will see chilly conditions. Either at first pitch or pregame those temperatures will be into the middle forties. Readings will fall around 28 degrees overnight under mostly clear skies.
TOMORROW: You will need the jacket in the morning early Saturday however with lots of sunshine for the afternoon temperatures warm up a little bit more. It will be seasonally cool with light and variable winds and high temperatures near 50.
7 DAY EXTENDED FORECAST: Clouds increase on your Sunday Look for partly cloudy skies with high temperatures a little warmer. Look for readings right around 61.
Temperatures continue to climb heading into next week. Look for a partly to mostly cloudy sky Monday with highs near 71. On Tuesday we get close to 80° but our rain chances do increase especially late Tuesday. We’ll see temperatures above normal with more rain possible on Wednesday and Thursday.
Indianapolis, IN
Colts free agent running back signs with Atlanta Falcons
ATLANTA (WISH) — Tyler Goodson, who played for the Indianapolis Colts the past three seasons, is joining a new team.
The Atlanta Falcons announced on Thursday that they have signed the free agent running back.
Goodson appeared in 33 games during his time in Indy, rushing for a total of 234 yards. He had one rushing touchdown back in 2024.
The rushing touchdown came during the Colts’ win over the Miami Dolphins that season. The rushing touchdown in that matchup was Goodson’s first career NFL touchdown during the regular season.
“For me it was a lot more exciting,” Goodson said following that game. “A moment I’ve been waiting for and it’s just surreal for me to be in this position. And I just thank God for it.”
Goodson also had 103 receiving yards and one receiving touchdown with the Colts. The receiving touchdown also came during the 2024 season, in a loss to the Buffalo Bills.
The move to the Falcons will be a homecoming of sorts for Goodson, who is a native of Suwanee, Georgia. He also attended North Gwinnett High School.
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