Fort Wayne man sentenced in deadly 2023 shooting

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WPTA) - A 38-year-old Fort Wayne man was sentenced to 75 years in prison Friday for a deadly 2023 shooting.

BACKGROUND: One dead, one injured in shooting on city’s northwest side

A jury found Royal Davis guilty in the shooting that killed 28-year-old Travis Gilbert and injured another man. Allen Superior Court Judge Fran Gull handed down a 60-year sentence for felony murder and 15 years for an enhancement for using a gun in the homicide.

Two other suspects took plea deals in the case. Jessica Fuentes was sentenced to 25 years in prison for attempted murder in July.

Robert D. Ward, who was also sentenced Friday, was ordered to serve to eight years in prison for armed robbery. He was also ordered to pay $2,500 in restitution.

COURT DOCS: Fight over fake drugs leads to fatal shooting

A witness told police she was asleep with the victims the day of the shooting when she woke up to a man, later identified as Davis, demanding $500 and hitting Gilbert in the head with a gun, according to court records. The woman said she slid a gun across the floor to the second victim, who exchanged gunfire with Fuentes.

Davis and Fuentes continued shooting as they ran out of the house, hitting the second victim, court documents say. Gilbert followed the shooters out of the home, where he was then shot in the chest.

When police went through Gilbert’s phone, they found Ward had sent the victim 28 messages and called him nine times in the span of about two hours the night of the shooting, court records show. The content of the messages made investigators believe Ward was trying to set up a drug deal with Gilbert.

Detectives then spoke with Ward, who told police Davis and Fuentes were angry when they realized the drugs they bought from Gilbert were fake and wanted their money back, court documents say.

To be the first to get the latest breaking news alerts, download the 21Alive News App here.

You can also catch the latest news from 21Alive anytime on Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Apple TV. Just search “21Alive” in the app store and download the app to your device.