Two Indianapolis men will spend the next decade or more behind bars after a botched dollar store heist ended with a clerk shot in the leg over just $120.
Jeremy Helms and Jaylynn McKinney, both 24, received their federal prison sentences today following guilty pleas for interference with commerce by robbery and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence. U.S. District Court Judge Sarah Evans Barker sentenced Helms to 13 years and 10 months, while McKinney received an even 10 years. Both men must also complete three years of supervised release after they get out.
The charges stem from an April 23, 2023, robbery at the Family Dollar on East 10th Street. According to court records, McKinney parked a blue Ford Focus behind the store to act as the getaway driver while Helms walked inside. Once indoors, Helms pulled out a 9mm Glock pistol outfitted with an extended magazine and demanded the clerk open the cash registers.
When the employee couldn’t get the registers open, Helms took matters into his own hands, reaching into the clerk’s pockets and pulling out $120 in cash. But the encounter turned violent as Helms walked out the door. Before fleeing, Helms turned and fired his gun at the employee, hitting him in the left leg.
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Helms ran out to the waiting Ford Focus and hopped into the passenger seat, but the escape didn’t last long. Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department officers were already close by and spotted the car. When officers tried to pull the vehicle over, McKinney slowed down just enough on a side street for Helms to jump out and run.
Police caught up with Helms using a K-9 unit. Along the path where he ran, officers found the black sweatshirt he wore during the robbery and the Glock handgun.
Federal officials noted the severe impact the crime had on the store employee, who survived the shooting.
“An innocent employee showed up to work that day and left wounded and lucky to be alive. No one should endure fear of violence while trying to earn an honest living,” said Tom Wheeler, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana. Wheeler added that the sentences reflect “the seriousness of the trauma inflicted on the victim.”
Timothy J. O’Malley, the FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge, echoed those sentiments, stating that the shooting “is a stark reminder of how quickly violent crime can change lives forever” and that the men showed a “reckless disregard for human life in pursuit of a senseless crime.”
The FBI and IMPD handled the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jayson McGrath prosecuted the case. The prosecution falls under Project Safe Neighborhoods, a collaborative law enforcement initiative aimed at reducing gun violence and violent crime.
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