Indianapolis man sentenced to 105 years in fatal shooting of Dutch soldier, wounding 2 others

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — An Indiana man has been sentenced to 105 years in prison for the 2022 fatal shooting of a Dutch soldier and wounding of two others in downtown Indianapolis.

A Marion County judge on Monday ordered Shamar Duncan to serve 60 years for murder, 35 years for attempted murder and 10 years for aggravated battery. The sentences are to be served consecutively.

A jury convicted Duncan last month.

Simmie Poetsema, 26, and the other two soldiers had been training at a southern Indiana military camp. The soldiers were walking back to their hotel during a night off in Indianapolis when they clashed with Duncan and a group of his friends, according to court documents.

Witnesses told police that the soldiers tried to defuse the situation but that a brief fight broke out before the gunshots were fired from a passing pickup truck.

Poetsema was a member of the Dutch Commando Corps.

Duncan told one of his friends that he opened fire on the soldiers because he “just spazzed, ” according to an arrest affidavit.

Duncan apologized during the sentencing to the families of the victims. Duncan also told his family he was sorry for “letting them down,” according to WXIN-TV.