A Gary man is on trial this week for allegedly opening fire on a minivan, killing a man and wounding a baby.

Terry Horton, 27, is charged with murder and attempted murder and two firearms enhancements. He has pleaded not guilty.

Selena Saenz told police her fiance Nehemiah Martin, 25, was riding in her minivan on May 7, 2022, as they headed east on 17th Avenue in Gary when a Chevrolet Malibu pulled up on the right side around 6 p.m. and a young man opened fire.

Martin was killed and his son, 17 months, was shot in the right arm, records show. Their two other children in the van, ages 3 and 2, were not physically hurt.

Police responded as Martin was lying on the ground near 17th and Tyler Street. Paramedics tried to perform CPR, but he was unresponsive.

Martin was shot in the back of the head, according to paramedics. He was pronounced dead that day by 7 p.m. and suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head, torso and hand, according to the Lake County coroner’s office.

Deputy Prosecutors Chris Bruno and Kasey Dafoe are leading the state’s case.

Defense lawyer Brandon Hicks wrote in court documents that Horton was with a relative at the time of the shooting. The lawyer believed several witnesses had inconsistent accounts.

Saenz testified they were returning from picking up takeout at a Gary jerk restaurant when Nehemiah told her to pull over and switch about two minutes later so she could drive. He jumped in the seat behind her.

She was driving slowly on Harrison Street, surrounded by potholes. Then, a driver in a white car pulled up, gave her a “dirty look” and immediately started opening fire at least five times, she said.

Video surveillance appeared to show both vehicles coming to a stop, the side minivan door opening, then Martin falling out. The white car speeds off.

In a lengthy exchange on cross-examination, Saenz told Hicks she recognized Horton’s face after seeing him around town once or twice, but couldn’t say where and didn’t know his name. Nehemiah’s gun was still in the holster.

Nehemiah didn’t have a problem with anyone, she said. He was a mechanic and also worked on houses, she said.

A few hours later, when she got her son ready for bed, she realized he was shot in the arm.

Nehemiah’s sister Tyeshia Mahone told prosecutors she lived nearby at the time and picked up barbecue, then happened to be parked outside at the Citgo gas station after buying two bottles of water. She heard gunshots.

“Somebody getting blown down,” she recalled.

A white Chevrolet Malibu blew past. The driver was “dark skinned” with a “big nose.” She wanted to see what happened.

Down the street, she saw Saenz waving her arms for help and her brother’s minivan.

“My heart just dropped,” she said.

Her brother was lying on the side. His eyes “went blank.” She, Saenz and the woman with Tyeshia tried to pick him up to get him in the minivan to go to the hospital. They couldn’t lift him. The whole event was a “blur,” she said.

Their sister Tyronda Martin said she went to the scene. The next day, she went back to the gas station where she overheard 2 or 3 people say “Terry” was the shooter.

She looked up a “Terry” in Gary on Facebook and found two entries. She sent the screenshot to Tyeshia and Saenz. They both said Horton was the man each saw. Afterward, they both picked him out in a different picture on a photo lineup.

When Hicks asked who the people were or if they directly saw the shooting, Tyronda said she didn’t know.

Earlier in the day, Gary police Officer Joseph VonBank, the first cop there, said it was “chaotic” and he took over trying to give CPR to Martin.

Sgt. Silas Simpson, then a patrolman, said Saenz was “hysterical” in the shooting’s aftermath. At the scene, both Saenz and Martin said they “recognized” the shooter.

“I know it was Terry,” he overheard Martin’s sister saying, either on the phone or to Saenz.

Hicks challenged Simpson, saying it wasn’t in the original charges. Simpson said he believed he told his supervisor about it, but acknowledged he may have made a mistake and not formally written it down for the case file.

Paramedics really couldn’t check the boy out because Saenz grabbed him back, Simpson said. Hours later, he responded to her Gary apartment when she noticed he was shot in the arm.

Prosecutors also played several chaotic 911 calls with women screaming in the background or several callers begging for an ambulance.

“My boyfriend got shot in the … face,” Saenz appeared to say.

The trial is before Judge Samuel Cappas.

mcolias@post-trib.com