Victim chases down robbers; 1 killed

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EVANSVILLE — One man died, another suffered severe injuries and two others were arrested on multiple charges Sunday after their vehicle crashed into one driven by a man they had just robbed, a sheriff in southwestern Indiana said.

The dead man and injured men, who were not immediately identified, were among four or five men who broke into the rural home of Ira Beumer northwest of Evansville, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Eric Williams said in a news release.

Beumer arrived home to a burglary in progress about 2:30 a.m. Sunday. He told deputies the group forced him at gunpoint inside the home and demanded valuables, currency and weapons, the news release said.

Once the group left his home, Beumer got into his vehicle and pursued the robbers. His vehicle collided with theirs a short time later. The collision killed one of the men inside the car and caused critical injuries to another, who was taken to an Evansville hospital, Williams said.

Beumer suffered a “very minor” injury in the crash, Williams told the Evansville Courier & Press.

At least two other men in the group fled the collision scene, but were tracked down by a K-9 unit, the sheriff said. Both men — Evansville residents Dezmont A. Hogan, 23, and Nalakeio L. Bennett, 20 — were arrested on preliminary charges of burglary, armed robbery, battery, intimidation and confinement. Hogan also faced a preliminarily reckless homicide charge.

The two were being held without bond at the Vanderburgh County Jail and were set to appear in court Tuesday. Jail records did not list attorneys for either man.

Deputies searched for a possible additional suspect but did not find anyone.

Investigators have talked to multiple people, including Beumer, several times, Williams said.

“It’s a very convoluted investigation with a lot of potential out there,” Williams told the newspaper. “It’s going to have to be looked at as a death investigation as well.”

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Information from: Evansville Courier & Press, http://www.courierpress.com