Two charged in connection with Gary double homicide in custody

Two men have been charged in connection with a double homicide last week in Gary are in custody.

Shelton Curtis, 22, faces two counts of murder in the Aug. 6 shooting deaths of James Powell and Raymond Washington-Whitehead, authorities said.

He turned himself in Tuesday, according to Gary police spokeswoman Dawn Westerfield.

While at large, Curtis was “considered armed and dangerous,” Westerfield said previously.

An accomplice of Curtis’, 22-year-old Kevin Blackmon, is also in custody and faces at least one charge of assisting a criminal, Westerfield said.

On Aug. 6, police received a call of shots fired in the 1100 block of Lane Street just before noon and found a man dead in the front yard of a home, police said at the time.

Several officers then entered the home “clearing it for public safety” and found another man dead inside, police said.

Powell was from the 2400 block of Whitcomb in Gary, and Washington-Whitehead lived in the 8600 block of Illinois Street in Merrillville, Ind., according to the Lake County coroner’s office.

Their deaths were among seven murders in seven days in Gary.