Defendant in 2018 felony murder case arrested, accused of stealing gun in separate case
Isaiah SeibertEVANSVILLE, Ind. — A man charged with felony murder, burglary and armed robbery in connection to the 2018 death of an elderly Evansville man was arrested in the early morning hours Wednesday, accused of stealing a gun in a separate case.
Twenty-year-old Xzereus Dlamini of Evansville was booked into the Vanderburgh County jail on five preliminary charges:
- theft of a firearm
- resisting law enforcement
- possession of a handgun without a license
- possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon
- possession of a firearm by a domestic batterer
He currently has no bond and remains in jail.
Dlamini was released from jail without bond in July in the felony murder case after prosecutors chose to try a co-defendant first, according to his defense attorney Jake Warrum. Under Indiana criminal rules, a defendant has to be released or brought to trial within 180 days.
Officers were dispatched to the 900 block of Powell Avenue for a report of shots fired, according to a probable cause affidavit from the Evansville Police Department. As they neared the address, the officers heard a single gunshot.
The officers also reportedly saw a vehicle fail to make a complete stop at a stop sign in the area.
The officers conducted a traffic stop. The vehicle's driver gave officers consent to search the vehicle.
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Dlamini, a passenger in the vehicle, protested the search, saying officers didn't have a right to look in the trunk. The vehicle's driver called his mother, who he said owned the car, and she told police they were allowed to search the trunk.
Officers reportedly found a semi-automatic handgun under a black backpack inside. At that point, the vehicle's occupants were placed in handcuffs.
According to the affidavit, a crime scene detective found four rounds of ammunition and a handgun holster in the backpack, along with Dlamini's Indiana identification card.
The gun was reported stolen from a vehicle in the early morning hours Tuesday, according to an EPD incident report.
Two of the vehicle's passengers said the gun wasn't theirs.
Dlamini reportedly refused to comply with officer commands, repeatedly unbuckling his seat belt and not allowing officers to place him in leg shackles. He was taken to jail.
Dlamini is concurrently a defendant in a felony murder case from November 2018.
Odie Carrier, Jr., died at the hospital days after being shot in his North Side home during a robbery.
Carrier had reportedly invited Mackayla Scarbrough, who was 17 at the time, to his home to pay her for sex. It's unclear whether he knew she was a minor.
After Scarbrough went inside, Dlamini and another man, then 18-year-old Connor Johnson, allegedly entered the home to rob Carrier.
Johnson was accused of pulling the trigger and charged with murder. He accepted a plea deal and was sentenced to 20 years in prison earlier this month.
Dlamini and Scarbrough are each facing two counts of felony murder, a separate charge from murder, along with robbery and burglary charges.
A defendant can be accused of felony murder if he or she is allegedly committing a separate felony that leads to someone's death.
On Oct. 31, 2018, just weeks before the robbery that ultimately led to Carrier's death, Dlamini pleaded guilty to domestic battery and resisting law enforcement in a separate case. He was given a suspended sentence of 180 days.
In the Carrier case, the courts ordered Dlamini released from custody July 26, according to online legal records.
After his new arrest, prosecutors filed a motion to revoke his release in the felony murder case, which is set for a Nov. 11 trial.
Scarbrough's jury trial is scheduled for Dec. 16.
