Prison

by: Jamie Duffy

Posted: Jul 31, 2023 / 03:47 PM EDT

Updated: Aug 1, 2023 / 01:55 PM EDT

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) – Alonna Allison, Kevin Nguyen, Lashonda Eldridge, Adam Tadeo, Nicholaus Scroggins, Maria Del Socorro Maldonado Ambriz, Daelon Locke, Marlon Davis.

The list goes on for 54 names, the names and faces of local homicides and missing persons, printed on playing cards.

Fort Wayne homicide detective Brian Martin, in charge of cold cases, printed 500 decks of cards to distribute to local jails and state prisons.

It’s not new, it’s just new here.

“We’re trying a new method or tactic to help us solve some of the cold cases that we have out there as well some missing persons that have been going on for quite a while and we suspect suspicious activity around the missing person,” Martin said.

The cards have contact information of the Fort Wayne Police Department, Allen County Sheriff’s Department and CrimeStoppers and the P3 tipline.

“We have 52 different cases featured and we used two of the jokers to get two more cases. The other two jokers (are) informational cards that tell a little bit about the project and why we’re doing it,” Martin explained in a sit-down interview Monday with WANE 15.

Three of the cold cases are from Allen County and the rest are the city of Fort Wayne, Martin added.

“Sheriff (Troy) Hershberger was extremely helpful with this project and even more so in getting these cards in the Allen County Jail,” Martin said.

Inmates at Indiana prisons and county jails, including Allen County, have time on their hands and often play cards to pass the hours.

When similar playing cards were dealt at Florida state prisons, the net result was “two or three cases per deck of cards,” Martin said. Indiana Department of Corrections is on their third edition of playing cards, he added.

Martin will take those odds any day.

“They are getting a lot of information. They’re getting feedback,” Martin said. “My thought is if I could get two or three of these cold cases or missing persons cases solved, one case would be fantastic. But if we could get two, three, four cases solved out of a deck of cards, I think that would be amazing and it would show us that we need to do a second edition with an additional 52 cases. “

Martin hopes to get them at jails in the surrounding counties because inmates often find themselves at various nearby facilities, he said.

To choose the 54 cases, Martin sat down with the rest of the homicide team and worked through the cases, choosing more of the most recent ones.

Someone like Adam Tadeo, shot in an alley off Creighton Avenue in March 2009, is one of the older cases for the deck.

The killing of Lashonda Eldridge, just 23 when she was shot to death in her own driveway off South Anthony Boulevard seated in her car with her two children, dates to August, 2019.

“This project is relatively expensive, not outrageous,” Martin said, thanking CrimeStoppers and former sheriff Ken Fries, for picking up the costs. The decks are not available to the general public.

“I think if we can get a couple of decks on each cell block that will allow the different inmates when they’re in the day rooms, when they’re outside their cell to have some visibility and maybe generate conversations or somebody who knows something will come forward and share that with us.”

Martin didn’t want to pick any cases over other ones to discuss out of respect for the victim and the families, but there are certain cases that affect him more than others.

“There’s definitely some cases you look at and you think, man we were so close. We’re so close to solving this. If we could get that one more piece over the wall so we could have prosecution. And obviously, some of our younger people in particular, not to take away from anybody, some of our younger folks who were 15 years old, 17, 18 years old, just beginning their lives. Those cases are, I guess, what you say near and dear to our heart,” Martin said.

Choosing the cases for the cards was “very much a team effort with the homicide division.

“We all sat and went through the cases and just to make it fair, we started with the most recent cases and worked backwards. There are one or two cases that are outside of that scope that we felt we needed to get in, definitely in the first edition.

“For the most part we just went by year and worked backwards to keep it fair and consistent.”

Martin believes Fort Wayne has around 200 cold cases. The cards are in boxes and ready to be dropped off.

“I just think it’s very important and we wanted to relay from the homicide division that this is one of many steps that we take. We’re always looking for new investigative techniques and different ways to get the word out to make our cases better and to solve cases,” Martin said.

Find each playing card here:

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