Indianapolis (WISH) — In 2023, a 19-year-old was accused 31 times with hosting several illegal parties in Indianapolis.
Jalen Helm was charged with 18 crimes and 13 misdemeanors for hosting the parties, one of which resulted in the death of 16-year-old Kalin Washington and the injuries of nine other young people.
Helm was charged with the following counts:
- Two counts of corrupt business Influence (Level 5 felonies)
- Six counts of maintaining a common nuisance (Level 6 felonies)
- Four counts of money Laundering (Level 6 felonies)
- Two counts of criminal recklessness (Class B misdemeanors)
- Criminal recklessness (Level 6 felony)
- Reckless homicide (Level 5 felony)
- Sale of alcoholic beverage without a permit (Class B misdemeanor)
- Identity deception (Level 5 felony)
- Fraud (Level 6 felony)
- Theft (Level 6 felony)
- Ten counts of theft (Class A misdemeanors)
Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears (D) stated that Helm left a digital trail in organizing these events by promoting them on social media and accepting payment via Cash App.
“We had an individual who was involved not only in the promotion of these parties, but creating an environment and an atmosphere that we are alleging unnecessarily put kids at risk.”
“When you have parties and you are inviting people to use drugs, use alcohol, to create a space for people that are underage to do all of those things, and then you introduce and allow guns to be there, it shouldn’t be a surprise to many people that violence was going to result, and in one of these cases, somebody lost their life.”
Mears said Helm took credit card information while working at Taco Bell. He used these to pay for the parties and then sold the card information to others for a profit.
“The scope of what is going on is pretty significant because it’s a Level 5 felony because we’re alleging that it’s more than 100 people who are victims of this identity fraud, who were impacted by having their credit card information compromised.”
These parties are unlawful for a number of reasons.
“Helm did not have a permit to have an event or sell alcohol.”
Mears claims Helm provided drugs and alcohol to underage participants and permitted armed individuals to attend the gatherings.
“It’s critical for homeowners and company owners who rent out properties to understand exactly who they’re renting to. However, when people read this content on social media, they are not legal. “They’re illegal.”
“So, when you see these things that are being promoted at someone’s house or maybe at a venue, and you know these things are going to take place where alcohol is freely available, where drugs are going to be freely available, and we’re talking about people less than 21 years of age, it’s really important to make sure people are notified because it puts a lot of people at risk.”
According to Mears, it is the responsibility of short-term rental owners to screen who they lend their premises to in order to avoid these gatherings.
“These gatherings are frequently aimed at teenagers and young adults. Parents must always be aware of their children’s whereabouts.
“We want all of these kids to go home at night. We want all of these kids to have fun, but if you let these parties continue unchecked, we’ve seen what happens: kids get harmed, and sometimes die. And to prevent that from happening, we must ensure that the parents are involved and engaged.”
Mears stated that Helm most certainly received assistance from others, but he was the common denominator in all of the occurrences.
Helm’s initial hearing is planned for Tuesday, December 17.
