Fort Wayne, Indiana — After charging a 16-year-old boy as an adult last year in connection with a fatal 2024 shooting near Weisser Park, Allen County prosecutors are now charging another teenager as an adult in the same case.
Idress Eldridge, 16, was formally charged with murder on Tuesday, months after Brauch Wilkins-Pease, now 17, was charged in October of 2024.
The charges stem from a shooting on Oct. 4, 2024, in the 400 block of Dalman Avenue. Angel Maldonado, 23, was found at the scene with gunshot wounds and pronounced dead shortly after. The Allen County Coroner’s Office determined Maldonado’s death was a homicide.
Shortly before the shooting, security footage from a nearby home captured Maldonado inside a parked vehicle. According to Allen Superior Court documents, two people were seen getting into the car, with one pulling a gun from under his sweatshirt and pointing it at Maldonado.
A struggle ensued, and as Maldonado attempted to exit the vehicle, one of the passengers shot him several times before fleeing west on Dalman Avenue, according to court documents. The other passenger also fired at Maldonado as he exited the vehicle.
Police found Eldridge and Wilkins-Pease in a nearby home and detained them after obtaining a search warrant. According to court documents, officers discovered clothing that matched the description of the two people in the security footage in a washing machine with a “heavy odor of bleach.”
Detectives interviewed both suspects and eventually arrested Wilkins-Pease on murder charges. Eldridge was released the same night, but police continued to investigate the case, which led to the discovery of an Instagram chat thread between Maldonado and an account that police allegedly linked to Eldridge, according to court documents.
The conversation reportedly centered on a drug deal in which Maldonado wanted to purchase marijuana. Maldonado’s last message stated that he had arrived at the meetup location, and records show that he sent it a few minutes before the shooting occurred.
Wilkins-Pease’s jury trial is scheduled for August 12, and according to court records, Eldridge’s arrest warrant is still active as of Tuesday afternoon.
