A Fort Wayne man on Monday was sentenced to 60 years in prison for the murder of his sister°®¶¹app™s boyfriend in Waynedale last year.
Samuel W. Evans IV, 24, was sentenced to five years shy of the maximum 65 years for the murder of 40-year-old Dennis Starr.
Evans entered a plea agreement in November that suggested dismissing a sentencing enhancement for using a gun, which carries five to 20 years in prison. That plea agreement was accepted Monday by Allen Superior Court Judge David Zent.
Evans is one of four people charged with the slaying of Starr, who was found suffering from a gunshot wound July 25, 2023, in the driver°®¶¹app™s seat of a car at Lower Huntington Road and Kruge Drive.
Others charged with murder include Evans°®¶¹app™ father, Samuel W. Evans III, 51; his sister Lexus Evans, 26; and Jesse Shears, 31. They all had murder charges dismissed in exchange for pleas to lesser charges with shorter sentences.
Lexus Evans and the victim were dating and living together before the fatal shooting, according to a probable cause affidavit written by Fort Wayne Police Detective Ben MacDonald.
Police used Samuel Evans III°®¶¹app™s cellphone location and video footage to connect him to the shooting, the affidavit said. Surveillance footage also showed a Jeep Renegade believed to be Samuel Evans III°®¶¹app™s vehicle following Starr°®¶¹app™s car to where he was found dead.
Starr was on his way to work at the General Motors assembly plant, according to court records. Lexus Evans told police that she was with her father, Samuel Evans III, when the shooting happened. Lexus Evans said she and Starr had argued three days earlier at a cookout and that she was assaulted by his friends after he left.
Lexus Evans last month was sentenced to 13 years in prison after pleading guilty to felony aggravated battery.
Samuel W. Evans III, who pleaded guilty to battery resulting in serious bodily injury, was sentenced to four years in prison. He faced a maximum sentence of six years, but the plea agreement capped the incarceration to four years.
Shears was sentenced to 10 years in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated battery. The charge carries a sentence of up to 16 years, but the plea agreement capped prison time to 10 years.
Samuel Evans IV on Monday was given credit for 494 days he has already spent incarcerated.
