Court docs: Snider student accused of murder, robbery after shooting
Mar 26, 2025
FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) -- Newly released Allen Superior Court documents have shed light on what led to a shooting that left a teenager dead and an 18-year-old Snider High School student facing a murder charge.
The suspect, identified as Jaiden Michael Landis, also faces a Level 5 felony robbery
charge in connection to the fatal shooting.
On March 20, Fort Wayne police responded to reports of a shooting in the 3000 block of Pennsylvania Avenue and found three people suffering from injuries.
Jaiden Michael Landis mugshot (Photo provided by the Allen County Sheriff's Department)
One person, identified as 16-year-old Chase Watson, died at the scene from his injuries, which the Allen County Coroner's Office later declared were from multiple gunshot wounds.
Two other people at the scene -- who were only identified in court documents as Snider students and friends of Landis -- were taken to a hospital in critical condition. Both students required surgery to fully assess their injuries.
During the investigation, police used surveillance footage from a nearby house to determine what led to the shooting. According to court documents, a white car slowly pulled up in front of a house before someone exited the car and entered the backseat of another vehicle. A few minutes go by before muzzle flashes can be seen in the video, and a man described as slender and wearing all dark clothing can be seen exiting the vehicle and running away.
Officers found three semiautomatic handguns inside the vehicle along with multiple phones. After obtaining a search warrant, police obtained phone numbers for each device, and one of the phones found in the backseat linked to Landis, according to court documents.
At some point, Landis' father called police and said he wanted his son to speak to officers. During a police interview, Landis reportedly gave a false account of what transpired before saying he and one of his friends who was shot were waiting in different vehicles along Pennsylvania Street when the friend texted Watson their location.
Landis also told police he was armed with a 9mm handgun that had been stolen from Watson, according to court documents. Landis then said Watson started to shoot inside the car, which caused Landis to shoot back from his seat.
Police also noticed Landis reportedly had stippling, which happens when unburnt gunpowder particles strike the skin and is usually an indicator of a close-range gunshot.
Landis does not have an initial hearing scheduled in court as of Wednesday afternoon. ...read more read less