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Last updated on Thursday, October 13, 2016
(BLOOMINGTON) - Police say Donald Gentry was bludgeoned to death with a brick from outside his mobile home. The brick was later found stained with blood and tossed over a fence behind Bloomington’s Motel 6.
According to a Monroe Circuit Court probable cause affidavit, a confidential informant told police that 63-year-old John Griffin, was at Gentry's mobile home the night of the murder to buy drugs and rob Gentry of cash he kept hidden in a sock drawer.
The informant told police they were nearby during the drug deal on Sept. 12 when a fight broke out and Gentry ended up dead.
The informant told police Griffin came out of Gentry's mobile home with blood all over his face and carrying a bag of narcotic pills and the bloody brick.
Griffin then reached in the back seat, pulled out a bottle of Windex and sprayed it on his face to clean off the blood. Griffin then drove to the Motel 6, where he threw the brick over a fence behind the motel.
The informant took police to that location where officer found the blood-spattered brick with hair on it. The brick was similar to bricks located at Gentry's home.
Police arrested 63-year-old John Griffin Tuesday after police set up a video recording of Griffin and the informate. In that video the informant asked Griffin if he knew Gentry was dead when he left the mobile home. Griffin nodded his his head no. When the informant asked Griffin if thought he killed Gentry, Griffin said no because Gentry was moaning and asking him "Why, Why, Why."
He was taken into custody after police found him driving a green Mazda MPV van. The same van, police say he was diving the night of the murder. Police found the bottle of Windex between the driver and passenger seat.
Police interviewed Griffin, who said he didn't know Gentry or where he lived. But police noticed the glass face of his watch was broken and it appeared there were blood stains on his tennis shoes
Police allege that drugs were at the heart of the brutal crime. "Through the investigation, it was discovered that Mr. Gentry was dealing prescription pills, marijuana and crystal methamphetamine to several people," the affidavit states. "It was also well known that he kept a large amount of cash in his sock drawer, and detectives found approximately $3,000 while processing the scene."
Griffin, who is homeless, will appear in court today to be formally charged with murder.
Griffin is a convicted sex offender. He was sentenced to a 20-year prison term in 1997 after pleading guilty in Bartholomew County to sexual misconduct with a minor.
Prison and parole records indicate he was released in 2006 and put on electronic monitoring after serving the required half of his time.
But multiple parole violations sent him back to prison, and he was released again, from the New Castle Correctional Facility, on March 18 of this year.
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