A 20-year-old Bloomington man was sentenced to 20 years in prison on Friday after pleading guilty to murder for his role in the April 2019 death of Juan Nash at an outdoor party in Bloomington.
The sentence for Exodus Hebert is the minimum term for first-degree murder. Hebert is one of three suspects charged with murder in Nash’s death.
Co-defendant Scotty Allen is serving 50 years for murder and Amari McNabb is scheduled for a May 17 jury trial in Nash’s death.
McNabb, who was slated to be tried with Hebert in May, watched Hebert’s plea hearing from a seat in the front row of the jury box. Judge Casey Costigan ordered McNabb brought to the courtroom, citing the defendant’s right to be present for proceedings in the case he's part of with Hebert.
McNabb showed no visible reaction to Hebert’s plea to the murder charge.
In a probable cause statement read in court, prosecutor Aaron Fredrick said the three men went to the party with the intent to confront Nash. Hebert is not believed by police to have fired the shots that killed Nash, but he was charged under an accountability theory for his part in the crime.
According to Fredrick, Hebert was a passenger in a getaway car, ordering the driver to wait for McNabb and Allen after shots were fired.
Language in the murder charge against Hebert was amended to accuse him of “striking” Nash with a weapon instead of “shooting him with a firearm.” The distinction allowed Hebert to avoid an additional 15-year penalty for use of a firearm during the crime.
A total of 24 shots were fired during the incident on Orchard Road, including 14 rounds fired by the 25-year-old victim, according to evidence at Allen’s trial. After he was shot, Nash managed to drive to a nearby neighborhood where he crashed his vehicle into a house.
Ties the three men and the victim had to a local gang activity were argued to the jury at Allen’s trial.
The shooting and several others followed social media taunts and threats among gang members, according to authorities.
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