Detectives say recordings and physical evidence contradicted the accused man’s account of the confrontation that killed Frank Haney.
GARY, Ind. — Surveillance recordings, witness statements and evidence recovered from a residential block are at the center of the case against Juan Alberto Camarillo, whom investigators accuse of fatally shooting neighbor Frank Haney after a dispute over an earlier gun confrontation.
The evidence-focused account laid out by investigators is important because Camarillo, 45, gave police a sharply different version of the July 12 shooting. Authorities say he claimed people in the neighborhood had fired at him and that he had been hit in the head with a brick. Detective James Nielsen wrote in the probable cause affidavit that investigators found no evidence supporting those claims. Nielsen said body-camera footage, surveillance recordings, witness accounts and forensic evidence instead supported the allegation that Camarillo approached the neighboring property while armed and initiated the confrontation that left Haney dead and another man wounded.
Police had a substantial scene to examine when they arrived in the 5700 block of West 6th Avenue. According to the affidavit-based account, officers found two men holding Camarillo down on a front lawn. Two gunshot victims were nearby. People at the scene identified Camarillo as the shooter and directed officers to a handgun. Investigators later reported recovering a Taurus pistol, five spent shell casings, a baseball cap and blood-covered clothing. Five live rounds were also found in Camarillo’s pocket, according to the court-record account. Those items gave detectives physical evidence to compare with what witnesses and cameras showed.
Recordings from the neighborhood then helped investigators build a timeline leading to the gunfire. The affidavit says Camarillo had been staying with a relative in the area. Earlier, Haney, 34, allegedly told that relative that Camarillo had pointed a handgun at him while questioning why he was walking through the neighborhood. Haney said he intended to contact police, according to investigators. When the relative raised the accusation with Camarillo and told him police were going to be called, surveillance footage reportedly showed his demeanor changing as the dispute intensified.
Investigators say the recordings captured Camarillo pulling a handgun from his waistband before heading toward the Haney property. A Ring camera reportedly showed him pacing and then crossing the street armed. Detectives say the footage also captured a shot being fired into the ground near the curb before the gun was pointed toward people in the yard. The sequence matters to the state’s theory because prosecutors allege Camarillo did not merely react to an unexpected attack. They say he learned of the threatened police report, armed himself and moved toward the people involved in the dispute.
The affidavit describes Haney as unarmed when the confrontation became physical. After the first gunfire, investigators say Haney tried to take the weapon from Camarillo. Detectives allege Camarillo fired toward Haney’s feet and then discharged additional rounds in the direction of Haney and a second man. The filing says Haney moved at Camarillo again in another apparent effort to disarm him. Haney was struck multiple times. A preliminary coroner’s finding reported by Region News Source said Haney suffered three close-contact gunshot wounds to the left side of his abdomen. He was pronounced dead after the shooting.
The other shooting victim survived a wound to the right shoulder and arm, according to the affidavit-based reporting. The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office separately confirmed that a second victim was shot in connection with the incident and that Camarillo was charged in relation to that injury. Authorities have not publicly identified the surviving victim in the prosecutor’s announcement. Although one early news account referred to two additional injured men, the official charging announcement and detailed affidavit summary reviewed for this report establish one fatal shooting victim and one additional person shot and wounded. The public record reviewed here does not resolve the discrepancy.
The scene did not end with Camarillo leaving the neighborhood. Witnesses told investigators that relatives and others were able to wrestle him to the ground, remove the handgun and hold him until police arrived. That unusual circumstance meant officers encountered the accused shooter, witnesses, weapon and victims in the same immediate area. It also allowed investigators to begin separating competing accounts quickly. Video from private cameras could then be compared with statements made at the scene, while shell casings and the firearm could be documented and collected for the investigation.
Camarillo’s statements to authorities became another piece of that comparison. While being treated after the confrontation, he allegedly said that someone else had been shooting at him and asserted that he had been struck with a brick. He also initially disputed that the gun involved belonged to him, according to published accounts of the affidavit. Nielsen concluded that the available evidence did not corroborate that version. The detective instead characterized Camarillo in the filing as the person who provoked the armed confrontation. That is an investigative conclusion and an allegation in a pending criminal case, not a judicial finding that Camarillo is guilty.
The Lake County Prosecutor’s Office announced charges July 14, two days after the shooting. Camarillo faces murder and attempted murder allegations, along with aggravated battery, battery with a deadly weapon, intimidation, criminal recklessness and a firearm sentencing enhancement. Court-record reporting has described additional battery and recklessness counts arising from the same incident. Prosecutors said the charges were secured after witness interviews and review of video and forensic evidence. They estimate that Camarillo could face more than 135 years in prison if convicted on the charged offenses and enhancements.
That potential punishment should not be read as a sentence already decided. The case remains pending, and the charging documents state only the prosecution’s allegations and the evidence investigators say establishes probable cause. Camarillo has the right to contest witness credibility, challenge the interpretation or admissibility of evidence and present a defense through the court process. The prosecutor’s office expressly noted when announcing the case that all defendants are presumed innocent while their cases are pending.
Behind the evidence dispute is the earlier interaction between Haney and Camarillo. According to witnesses cited by investigators, Haney said Camarillo had displayed or pointed a firearm while asking why Haney was walking in the neighborhood. That accusation was brought back to the relative with whom Camarillo was staying. The affidavit says Camarillo became angry when told the encounter would be reported. Investigators allege that instead of remaining at the residence, he armed himself and crossed the street to confront the Haney family. That asserted sequence gives prosecutors a narrative connecting the earlier alleged threat to the later homicide.
The recordings may be especially significant because they provide investigators with evidence independent of what either side said after the shooting. According to the affidavit summary, cameras documented Camarillo’s movements before the confrontation and portions of the encounter outside the neighboring property. Police also had body-camera footage after officers arrived. Nielsen cited those recordings together with witness statements and forensic findings when rejecting Camarillo’s claim that others had first opened fire on him. The public sources reviewed do not contain the full recordings, so their complete contents and any defense interpretation of them cannot be independently assessed from the published reports alone.
The investigation was handled by Nielsen with the Gary Police Department and the Lake County Prosecutor’s Homicide Task Force. The prosecutor’s office said the task force included assistance from the Indiana State Police, Indiana State Excise Police, East Chicago Police Department, Gary Police Department and Lake County Coroner’s Office. Lake County crime-scene personnel also assisted. That combination of agencies handled the evidence that prosecutors say was used to secure the charges.
As of Aug. 22, the publicly reviewed material did not show a final resolution of the case. No conviction has been reported, and Camarillo remains presumed innocent. The state’s allegations now place the competing descriptions of the shooting into the court process, where the recordings, physical evidence and testimony can be tested rather than accepted solely on the basis of the probable cause filing.
Author note: Last updated August 22, 2026.