19-year-old charged in Bargersville robbery-turned-shooting gets 2 years in prison

A 19-year-old charged with conspiracy to commit a robbery that ended in a triple shooting that caused his friend’s deaths more than a year ago in Bargersville has been sentenced to two years in prison.

Devon McHugh was handed his sentence of four years, two of those suspended, on Thursday after he pleaded guilty in March to a felony charge of conspiracy to commit robbery. The charge stemmed from what court records describe as an attempt by him and his friends to rob people of marijuana at a gas station on Christmas Eve in 2020, which ended when gunshots fired as they began their plan. 

McHugh, who was 18 at the time, survived his gunshot wound to his leg and back. His friends, 18-year-old Ethan Bell and 17-year-old Tony Cristobal, died.  

Police said no arrest has been made in the shooting. 

'We don't see this kind of violence in Bargersville'

The shooting shocked the town of Bargersville.  

“We don’t see this kind of violence in Bargersville, and want to make sure the incident is investigated to the fullest,” Police Chief Todd Bertram said at the time in the announcement of McHugh’s arrest.  

More:3 teens were shot in Bargersville last year. Police arrested the lone survivor.

Court records said Bell and Cristobal died at the gas station and police found a Halloween mask resembling a skull near Cristobal’s head. Medics took an injured McHugh to Eskenazi Hospital, where police said McHugh told them the trio had been drinking to celebrate his birthday, when they devised a plan to rob people of $400-worth of marijuana. After they arranged the deal, they met the sellers at the gas station and got into their car. McHugh told police the bullets started firing shortly after.

In the previous announcement of McHugh's arrest, the Johnson County Prosecutor's Office referred to the charges as a way to hold him accountable for the robbery ruse that turned deadly. 

"While McHugh didn’t personally perform the attempted robbery itself, he chose to be part of that plan and acted in concert with his friends. We will seek to now hold him accountable for that choice” said Johnson County Prosecutor Joe Villanueva at the time.

Contact Sarah Nelson at sarah.nelson@indystar.com or 317-503-7514.