More men indicted in east Springfield double-slaying and robbery

Police say four men planned to rob Larch Street resident; the three who survived face charges, one of whom was caught in Alabama
The house at 2121 Larch Street in Springfield where two people were shot and killed Sunday, Jan. 27, 2025. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Credit: Bill Lackey

Credit: Bill Lackey

The house at 2121 Larch Street in Springfield where two people were shot and killed Sunday, Jan. 27, 2025. BILL LACKEY/STAFF

Three people have been indicted in connection with a Springfield shooting that left two men dead late last month.

Jaron Coley, 18; Nathan Keaton, 21; and Riley Haynes, 24, were indicted Monday on six charges of murder, as well as aggravated murder, aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and felonious assault. Haynes also faces a having weapons under disability charge.

The shooting happened after 10 p.m. Jan. 26 in the 2100 block of Larch Street.

All three indicted subjects, along with Clifton James Cummings, 35, planned the robbery of Spencer Sharp, who lived in the house, according to Springfield Police.

According to a probable cause affidavit previously filed by police, Coley and Cummings were involved in a drug deal with Sharp, and after entering his house, one of the men shot him in the course of a robbery.

During the robbery, an exchange of gunfire occurred, killing both Cummings and later, Sharp.

Police found the two men on the porch of a house with gunshot wounds. Cummings was pronounced dead on the scene with a gunshot wound to the head. Sharp, 30, was transported to the hospital, where he died.

According to a press release from the police department, police arrested Haynes on Thursday, and Keaton was arrested in Alabama with the help of U.S. Marshals. His extradition from the Jefferson County Jail in Alabama is pending.

Police said previously that Sharp was the owner of the home and that there was a toddler inside who was unharmed. The house is on the east side of Springfield, off North Belmont Avenue, a few blocks from Lagonda.

Video surveillance from the house showed Coley enter with Cummings, who was wearing a ski mask and holding a handgun, according to the police affidavit.

According to the affidavit, Coley was on parole and wearing an ankle monitor, with GPS records indicating his presence at the home during the robbery. Coley allegedly told police once arrested that he went to the home to buy marijuana but did not know there would be a robbery.

Police said the six counts of murder for each man (in addition to the aggravated murder charge) are under language pointing to two deaths as the foreseeable results of three other charges (aggravated robbery, aggravated burglary and felonious assault).

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