INDIANAPOLIS — A teen is facing multiple felonies after he was arrested following a pursuit and shots fired incident with police on the south side of Indianapolis last week.
Gun thefts prompt multi-agency investigation
On May 21, officers with the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department were called to assist the Carmel and Plainfield police departments in an investigation into multiple vehicle break-ins and gun thefts.
Court documents revealed that Carmel and Plainfield police had identified a possible suspect operating a brown Mitsubishi Outlander through the use of Flock cameras, home surveillance and gas station surveillance.
The search for the suspects led police to Indy’s south side near the intersection of Madison Avenue and Terrace Avenue. Court documents show that officers located the suspect vehicle in an apartment complex on Thompson Way before it began to head north.
Police then conducted a traffic stop in the 1400 block of S. Madison Avenue. The driver, who identified as Kurt Fisher, allegedly ignored these commands and continued heading west on Orange Avenue before turning eastbound on Terrace Avenue and south into the Madison Loft Apartments.
Once the vehicle arrived at the apartments, police said Fisher fled the vehicle on foot before he was apprehended a short time later. Fisher was later charged with a Level 6 felony for resisting law enforcement with a vehicle. The other passenger, however, remained inside the vehicle and tried to flee from officers. This proved unsuccessful, and this passenger was also apprehended.
Fisher reportedly told police that he did not have any knowledge of the Carmel and Plainfield thefts and denied knowing anything about the stolen firearms that were recovered. He did admit to driving without a driver’s license, police said.
At this time, police confirmed a third suspect, who was identified as 17-year-old Zerryon Patton, also fled on foot as IMPD and Carmel police officers gave chase.
During the chase, an officer reported observing Patton allegedly stop and face him before he began to extend his arm. At that moment, the officer believed he heard the sound of gunfire ring out.
At that time, IMPD posted on X, where it urged nearby residents to remain indoors as it investigated possible shots being fired at officers.
Officers later located a handgun in the grass near where Patton reportedly stopped and where the gunshot was heard. Police then requested additional help from other units, including drone operators, IMPD K9, IMPD SWAT teams and an Indiana State Police helicopter.
The juvenile suspect allegedly entered a vehicle in the 1400 block of S. Talbot Street and initially refused officers’ commands to exit the vehicle before he was taken into custody without further incident.
Officers had observed that the suspect was suffering from a gunshot wound to his leg, with police stating that the suspect reportedly shot himself during the foot chase. Patton was then transferred to Eskenazi Hospital, where he was last reported to be in stable condition.
Once Patton arrived at the hospital, police confirmed that he suffered a “through and through” gunshot wound just above his knee.
IMPD reported seizing two stolen handguns from the suspect, as a third handgun was located near the path the juvenile followed during the brief foot chase. A fourth handgun was also found inside the suspect’s vehicle. One of the firearms was reported to be stolen out of Plainfield, and the other from Indianapolis.
As the investigation into the incident continued, a detective reviewed video surveillance footage that appeared to show Patton jump a fence of a home in the 1400 block of Union Street. After Patton jumped the fence, he could be seen “limping severely and consistent with a gunshot wound to the right leg with items flopping around the right pant leg, appearing to be the guns,” court documents said.
Criminal history
As detectives continued investigating the case, they learned that Patton had an active warrant out of Marion County for a Level 5 felony for domestic battery on a pregnant woman. He was also previously convicted of dangerous possession of a firearm on March 4, 2025.
Patton is also implicated in a case out of Hamilton County, where he is also being charged as an adult with additional firearm possession charges alongside theft and possession of a machine gun charges. He is set to appear in court on July 7 for his jury trial in that case.
Patton was discharged from the hospital on May 23 and preliminarily charged with the following:
- Resisting Law Enforcement (Level 5 Felony)
- Three counts of Dangerous Possession of a Firearm (Level 5 Felony)
- Resisting Law Enforcement using a vehicle (Level 6 Felony)
Patton will appear in Marion Superior Court 27 on May 29 for an initial hearing in his latest case.
