Defendant Javier Mendez, 41, was seen riding in the front passenger seat of the aqua-colored minivan used in the homicide of a 26-year-old East Chicago man, court records allege.
As the suspects van rounded the corner, its passenger sliding door opened, a gun was pointed out the door and several shots were fired at the victim at point-blank range,
Asael Rivera, 26, of East Chicago, had been shot several times to his lower back some time before he entered a restaurant on the Indiana-Illinois border, authorities said.