DARKE COUNTY — A Darke County grand jury has indicted a Dayton man on seven felony charges after he was accused of killing a man during a burglary involving his estranged girlfriend.
Eric J. Martin, 27, was indicted on felony charges of aggravated murder, murder, aggravated burglary and four other felony charges, according to an indictment filed in Darke County Common Pleas Court Monday.
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Deputies and medics were called to the 100 block of West Main Street in Gettysburg around 4:20 p.m. Dec. 19 on reports of a shooting, deputies said.
Layton White, 29, of Union City, Indiana, died after being shot around 4:20 p.m. Sunday.
A witness told deputies he saw Martin force his way into the house.
“Martin then was in a physical altercation with (a woman), who resides at the address,” a Darke County detective wrote in an affidavit filed in Darke County Municipal Court. “White intervened to try to protect (the woman).”
Martin is the estranged boyfriend of the woman, said Darke County Sheriff Mark Whittaker.
Whittaker said it appears the fight happened during an apparent custody exchange of the estranged couple’s children.
Deputies said after White intervened in the fight, Martin went to his vehicle and came back with a handgun. White was a friend of the woman involved in the initial fight, Whittaker said.
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Martin is then accused of shooting White “and even followed the victim further into the street and shot him again,” court records read.
The couple’s children, who are age 10 and younger, were at the home at the time and witnessed the shooting happen outside on the sidewalk, Whittaker said.
Martin left the shooting scene and was eventually captured in the area of the Meijer store in Troy, Miami County Sheriff’s Office records showed.
Whittaker said he encourages people who need to do custody exchanges of children to use the parking lot at the Darke County Sheriff’s Office or other law enforcement agencies, since the facilities typically have cameras and law enforcement is present.