A week after 18-year-old Alayna Ortiz was shot to death in Northwest Indiana, charges have been filed against two suspects in the case.
21-year-old Giovante Galloway and his uncle, 48-year-old Juarez Rogers, were both charged with murder and numerous felony burglary charges in the death of Ortiz.
On the evening of Jan. 9, police say that Ortiz was shot and killed while riding in a car with her boyfriend and two other people.
Police say that Ortiz’s boyfriend is believed to be a drug dealer, and the four individuals were fleeing a residence after two break-in attempts, which were believed to have been carried out by Rogers and Galloway.
The group was seeking shelter at the Park West Apartments in Griffith, Indiana, and that is where the shooting ultimately took place.
Police say that Galloway owed Ortiz’s boyfriend money, and when he couldn’t pay up, he and his uncle devised a scheme to steal money from the couple’s home.
The suspects spotted Ortiz and her boyfriend’s vehicle, and followed them that night to Griffith with the intention of robbing them, police said in a sworn affidavit.
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When the suspects allegedly attempted to rob the couple, gunfire rang out, and Ortiz was struck in the head by a bullet. She later died from her injuries.
Police do not believe that Ortiz was the intended target in the slaying.
Galloway is now in police custody, but Rogers remains at large. Police believe that he is still in the area.
