A man from Sauk Village, Illinois, was found guilty in March of the gang-related murders that happened at the Waterford Glen Apartments in South Bend in October 2022. After a bench trial, St. Joseph Superior Court Judge John Marnocha gave the man 75 years in jail.
On Wednesday, Marnocha gave Tyrik Rayford, who is 24 years old, a total of 75 years in prison for the deaths of Malik Balderos, who was 21, and Ricky Kinds Jr., who was 20, on October 22, 2020. Both men were from South Bend.
During a bench trial, Marnocha found Rayford guilty of murder, conspiracy to kill, and having a gun while committing a felony.
Rayford got 55 years for murder and 30 years for plotting, both of which he has to spend at the same time. Rayford was given a total of 75 years in the Indiana Department of Corrections when he was found guilty of murder, plot, and using a gun as part of a crime. He was given an extra 20 years in prison for using a gun as part of a crime.
Officials think that Balderos and Kinds were killed by a member of a gang in October 2020. According to court papers, ballistic evidence shows that at least eight different weapons were used in the killings at the Waterford Glen Apartments.
In addition to Rayford, three other men were charged with crimes related to the shooting. The shooting was the end of a chain of events that started on Oct. 17, 2020, when 16-year-old Frederick Williams was killed.
Documents say Frederick was a member of “the West Side.” At a memorial service for Frederick on Oct. 22, 2020, a group of people with weapons gathered, and one of them told agents that someone would “pay for this.”
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Lance Dawson agreed to a plea deal in August 2022 in return for testifying against Darius Vaughn and Dijon Davis, who had also been charged in the shooting with aiding, inducing, or causing murder and conspiracy to commit murder, as well as a criminal gang sentencing enhancement. Davis’ sentence was also made worse because he had a gun. Vaughn and Davis are being investigated for crimes.
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