It’s been six months since Dustin Wesley Soubeih was murdered.
He was shot by a neighbor in the 1300 block of Kappes Street in April. Even now that he has been arrested and he hopes justice will be served, loved ones still feel the pain of his loss.
Rachael Sidall met Soubeih, 39, in sixth grade at Perry Meridian Middle School. The Indianapolis resident said they were best friends. He was so hilariously funny, she said, that many girls came up to him and then asked her about him because she was the closest to him.
“One summer he disappeared and I had no idea where he was,” Sidall said. “And then he came back to school in this chameleon-painted car. It was purple and blue when the sun shone on it with large rims. He had worked at Red Lobster all summer and saved his money to buy that car. I’m awake every day in 11th and 12th grade.”
Dustin Soubeih: Police in Indianapolis arrest fatal shooting Monday evening
For her birthday, she and her family went to the same Red Lobster where he worked and he surprised her with a cake while singing “Happy Birthday” to her in front of the entire restaurant.
Above all, he was thoughtful, and that is what Sidall will miss most about him.
“I grew up with Dustin since third grade,” his friend Michael Walters told IndyStar. “Dustin absolutely did not deserve what happened to him during an argument. That man took a father away from his children, a child away from his mother and a friend away from a lot of people who genuinely cared about Dustin.”
Dustin Wesley Soubeih, 39, shot dead
On April 1, 2024, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police were called to the scene in the 1300 block of Kappes Street after reports of a person shot. There they found Soubeih shot. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
His neighbor, Jerry Fallen, was arrested the next day.
According to court records, Fallen’s wife told police that Soubeih and his girlfriend came over earlier in the day to help Fallen, who was having a panic attack. After the panic attack passed, Fallen went to the house Soubeih shared with his girlfriend. Fallen started arguing with Soubeih before returning to his own house. Fallen’s wife told police she was going to run an errand and while she was gone, she received a call from Fallen’s daughter saying he had shot someone.
A juvenile witness stated that they believed Fallen was high on some kind of drug.
Ring camera footage from Soubeih’s home showed Fallen going to Soubeih’s home with a gun, according to the court. Soubeih became very upset and yelled at Fallen to put the gun away, come back outside and they would fight. Video also showed Soubeih throwing rocks at Fallen’s home on two separate occasions.
A neighbor told police they eventually heard one shot and saw Soubeih collapse on his porch.
Jerry Fallen arrested for murder
In the early morning hours of April 2, 2024, Fallen was arrested by the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police.
As he was being transported, Fallen asked police, “Can I pray for everyone here? Last night I took a life, and I wish it had never happened.” He waived his Miranda rights and gave a statement to investigators.
Fallen said he had an argument with Soubeih before Soubeih threatened him. So he took back his 9mm pistol.
According to court records, Fallen told investigators that he pointed the gun at Soubeih and that he “pulled the trigger, but it did not fire. Pulled the slide back. Pulled the trigger again, but it did not fire. Pulled the slide back again, pulled the trigger a third time, and it fired once.”
After the shooting, Fallen fled the scene, threw away the gun and continued to walk through the area until he was located by police.
‘This gun violence has gotten out of hand’
Walters said nothing can be done to ease the pain of Soubeih’s family and that no amount of prison time can bring him back.
“This gun violence has gotten out of hand,” Walters said. “I have lost five friends to gun violence. So when Dustin was murdered it was beyond devastating. Then the video of his death was posted online and words cannot explain the emotional effect it has on the family to witness something so tragic .”
Sidall said the Ring camera footage was sent to her and she looked at it. She feels that Soubeih wouldn’t have believed that Fallen would actually shoot him.
“I really believe he went there to help him,” Sidall said. “I don’t know if somewhere between helping and what happened, the guy was on drugs and said something or other, but it just hurts to know he was there for hours.”
Soubeih leaves behind an 18-year-old son.
Jade Jackson is a public safety reporter for IndyStar. Contact her at Jade.Jackson@IndyStar. Follow her on Twitter @IAMJADEJACKSON.
This article originally appeared in the Indianapolis Star: Neighbor shot on Indianapolis’ west side after argument
