Stimulus Check Killer Sentenced To 145 Years Behind Bars

by Sharelle Burt

August 6, 2024

‘I think about the 7-year-old losing her life, and I think everybody asks the same question about the 7-year-old—why?’

Malik Halfacre, the man who killed members of his girlfriend’s family, including a 7-year-old girl, over a stimulus check, was sentenced to 145 years behind bars, Law and Crime reports. 

Halfacre of Indianapolis learned his fate after pleading guilty in June 2024 for murdering Eve Moore, 7, Dequan Moore, 23, Tomeeka Brown, 44, and Anthony Johnson, 35, in March 2021 for a $1,400 stimulus check. Halfacre’s girlfriend, Jeanettrius Moore, was also shot but survived, hiding under a neighbor’s porch.  

The crime happened after Halfacre rifled through Moore’s purse to look for a stimulus check she received during the COVID-19 pandemic. When law enforcement arrived, they found Moore, who alerted them that Halfacre had fled with the couple’s 6-month-old daughter after the shooting. Halfacre’s sister then called the police and said the child was with her.

Halfacre knocked on the door and came inside to drop the baby off and “all of the baby’s stuff” at his sister’s home before leaving, according to a probable cause affidavit. The sister told detectives that her brother admitted to the killings.

“She then described how he called a friend on her phone, and the friend agreed to help Mr. Halfacre get out of town,” according to the affidavit. 

The friend helped police locate Halfacre, who was at his girlfriend’s home. SWAT’s arrival resulted in a standoff that lasted hours, but eventually, Halfacre was taken into custody. He then told police he and Moore were arguing “because he wanted some of her stimulus check.’ After he shot everyone, “he took the money, J.M.’s purse, and her car and left the scene.”

According to 13 WTHR, Halfacre pleaded guilty to four counts of murder and one count of attempted murder. He also was charged with armed robbery, felon carrying a handgun, and auto theft. Due to his criminal history, Prosecutor Ryan Mears pressed for a 180-year sentence, the maximum granted under Indiana state law, but was satisfied with the sentence.

“We are thankful for the dignity, grace, and patience the family and the survivor have shown throughout such an unimaginably difficult process,” Mears said in a statement. “The defendant will spend the rest of his life in prison, and this resolution provides finality to the criminal matter as our community continues to heal from this horrific tragedy.”

Mears and his team also considered the death penalty. “I think about the 7-year-old losing her life, and I think everybody asks the same question about the 7-year-old—why?” he said. “I have a 3- and 4-year-old.”

Victim Anthony Johnson’s wife, Gwendolyn, said her husband was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He stopped by Moore’s house just to visit and was caught in the crossfire. “He had just celebrated a birthday on March 2nd,” the widow said. “He told me that this was the happiest he had ever been. He was happy about his job. He was the number-two salesperson on his sales team.”

After seeing her story online, rapper T.I. and his wife, Tiny, donated $6,500 for Johnson’s funeral expenses.

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