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Two Evansville teens arrested for murder of Emmanuel Malichai Young

EVANSVILLE – Prosecutors asked a Vanderburgh County judge Thursday to force two teenagers to provide DNA samples after they were arrested in the killing of 17-year-old Emmanuel Malichai Young, court records say.

The two teenagers, identified in court records as 16-year-old Santana T. Cooper and 17-year-old Lackey N. Snaden, were being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail Wednesday evening on preliminary charges of aggravated murder. Both were held without bail and a judge is scheduled to review their cases Thursday afternoon.

Under Indiana law, juveniles who are at least 16 years old and charged with committing violent crimes, such as murder, are exempt from the adult criminal justice system.

The affidavits filed in support of the arrests of Cooper and Snaden shed light on how investigators allegedly linked them to Tuesday night's shooting in Tepe Park that left Young, a recently father, dead came, according to a review of his social media posts.

On Tuesday around 10:37 p.m., an Evansville Police Department officer told dispatchers that he heard “multiple gunshots” near Linwood and Monroe avenues, the affidavit states, not far from Tepe Park, which is located extends east of South Garvin Street. Soon several emergency callers would also report that they had heard shots.

By 10:40 p.m., an officer had arrived at Tepe Park, where he found Young's body near a picnic area. He was already dead. “Young was found to have multiple gunshot wounds to his torso and extremities,” EPD Detective Michael Beitler wrote in an affidavit.

According to police, at least one surveillance camera recorded footage of the shooting. The video showed two people standing next to Young, not far from where officers found his body, according to Beitler.

“Flashes are seen that are believed to be shots fired by these two unidentified individuals,” Beitler wrote. “Young is seen falling to the ground where he was discovered…”

The video showed the two suspects fleeing Tepe Park.

A child who witnessed the shooting reportedly told investigators that he saw the two suspects fleeing, dressed all in black and wearing black ski masks. Investigators believe additional video evidence would corroborate the child's statement.

The investigation began to focus on Cooper and Snaden after another witness told investigators that both boys had spent time with Young at Eastland Mall on Tuesday. Here, too, video evidence would corroborate the witness's testimony, Beitler wrote: Video footage obtained from Eastland Mall allegedly showed Young walking with Cooper, Snaden and at least two others.

According to EPD, in the footage, Cooper and Snaden appeared to be wearing the same clothing that the suspects in the Tepe Park shooting were wearing at the time of Young's murder.

Evansville police said they tracked down Snaden and Cooper and took them to EPD headquarters downtown for questioning. However, court records do not indicate when. Snaden declined to make any statements to police, Beitler wrote. Cooper allegedly recounted what happened Tuesday night and told investigators that both he and Snaden were with Young at the time of his murder.

However, according to his affidavit, Cooper claimed that two unknown men threatened to shoot all three boys before eventually opening fire on Young. Beitler wrote that Cooper's story did not match the video surveillance evidence.

Investigators said they showed Cooper the footage, after which Cooper allegedly admitted that he and Snaden were the two people seen running away from Tepe Park. Cooper also allegedly admitted that he was one of two people captured on surveillance footage standing near Young when the gunfire erupted. However, the affidavit does not say that Cooper admitted to playing a role in Young's murder.

Cooper declined to comment further on the matter, Beitler wrote.

The affidavit does not mention the type or caliber of weapons used in the shooting, nor does it mention whether investigators seized any weapons. As of Thursday morning, neither Cooper nor Snaden appeared to have sought legal representation, according to records in their cases.

Probable cause hearings in both cases were scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Ahead of the trial, the Vanderburgh County District Attorney's Office requested that Cooper and Snaden be forced to submit DNA samples for testing.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at [email protected].

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