Dairus E. Thompson II

Introduction

Dairus E. Thompson II — a 40-year-old Farmland, Indiana, man known to witnesses as “Gotto” — has been charged with murder as an aider or inducer, conspiracy to commit murder, and obstruction of justice in the October 5, 2026, drive-by shooting death of Christopher Wilson Jr., a 17-year-old Yorktown High School football standout whom investigators believe was killed in a case of mistaken identity. According to the probable-cause affidavit, Thompson II did not fire the shots: detectives allege he drove the vehicle used in the attack and coached the shooting with step-by-step instructions while his 17-year-old son, Dairus E. Thompson III, allegedly pulled the trigger. The son is charged as an adult with murder, conspiracy, and obstruction. Neither man has publicly responded to the charges.

Background Information

Thompson II was first booked into the Delaware County Jail on October 14, 2026, after a warrant charged him with unlawful possession of a firearm by a serious violent felon in Madison County — an arrest Muncie-area reporting connected to the September shooting death of 31-year-old Tomerious T. Smoots in Anderson, a case in which 17-year-old Jovonte Day-Jahn Larry is charged with murder. Thompson II has not been charged in Smoots’ death. He lived in Farmland, in neighboring Randolph County, where police say the white GMC Acadia allegedly used in the Wilson shooting fled at a high rate of speed after the attack; officers later determined the SUV was in Thompson II’s possession that night.

The Controversy or Incident That Led to Their Cancellation

Charged, not convicted. Thompson II faces three Delaware County charges — murder as an aider or inducer, conspiracy to commit murder, and obstruction of justice — over the October 5 drive-by that killed Wilson; his 17-year-old son is charged as an adult with murder, conspiracy, and obstruction as the alleged shooter. The account comes from a probable-cause affidavit and witnesses, not a trial verdict. Neither man has publicly responded to the charges; both are presumed innocent, and no trial date has been set.

Wilson, a 6-foot-7 senior defensive end who had committed in June to play at West Virginia University — his obituary calls him Delaware County’s first-ever four-star recruit and a captain of the Tigers’ sectional championship team — was shot multiple times around 3 a.m. on October 5 in the 1400 block of East Cromer Avenue in Muncie while sitting in a car with his girlfriend as the two returned from a restaurant. His girlfriend was unharmed and called 911; Wilson was pronounced dead at the scene around 3:15 a.m.

According to the affidavit filed October 27 and cited by FOX59/CBS4, Thompson II had been engaged in an ongoing dispute — including prior shots-fired incidents — with a man who closely resembles Wilson and was known to frequent the area where the shooting happened; witnesses told investigators Wilson was mistaken for that man and was not the intended target. Surveillance video captured a white GMC Acadia driving through the neighborhood moments before the shooting and speeding away after it, fleeing to the Farmland residence where Thompson II lived. Location data from both Thompsons’ phones placed them in Muncie the morning of the shooting and in Parker City later that day, and data from the son’s phone put him in the immediate area when Wilson was killed.

The allegation at the center of the case comes from Thompson II’s own phone. A forensic analysis turned up a video apparently recorded from inside the Acadia the night of the shooting in which Thompson II could be heard “talking about how to conduct a drive-by shooting and (giving) step-by-step instructions on how to do so,” according to charging documents. One witness told police Thompson II had said Wilson’s death was a mistake and that he believed Wilson was the man he had been feuding with; another said Thompson II remarked that he “let lil bros rockout,” which the witness took to mean he had his son carry out the attack. Witnesses also said the two men tried to trade away the gun afterward, with Thompson II telling one to “get rid of it” — investigators later recovered the weapon and matched it ballistically to the spent ammunition at the scene.

The charges landed in late October. Court records reported by NewsLink Indiana show Thompson II charged on October 26; WTHR, citing online court records, reported he was formally charged October 29 with murder (aiding, inducing or causing an offense), conspiracy to commit murder, and obstruction of justice — meeting Delaware County Prosecutor Eric Hoffman’s Thursday filing deadline — and he has an initial hearing scheduled for November 2. His son was arrested the same day in Detroit by Muncie detectives working with the Detroit Violent Gang Task Force, on a Delaware County warrant charging murder, conspiracy, and obstruction; he remained in Michigan awaiting extradition, with no initial hearing yet set. Indiana law routes 16- and 17-year-olds accused of serious felonies into adult court.

Public Reaction and Consequences

Muncie police described the affidavit’s filing as “one milestone” in an investigation that remains active. Wilson’s death drew tributes from every institution that knew him: West Virginia head coach Rich Rodriguez said the Mountaineers program was “heartbroken by the news of the tragic loss of Chris Wilson Jr.”; Yorktown High School principal Stacey Brewer remembered a student who “never wanted the spotlight” despite his 6-foot-7 frame; and head football coach Mike Wilhelm said the team “has lost a brother, and we will carry him with us forever.” The school held a moment of silence at its senior-night game, lit the football field in his memory, and players wore helmet stickers in his honor. Wilson’s family asked for privacy, saying they were “not prepared to speak publicly” as they processed the arrests.

Current Status

Dairus Thompson II remains in custody following his October 14 booking, now formally charged with murder as an aider or inducer, conspiracy, and obstruction, with an initial hearing set for November 2, 2026. Dairus Thompson III is held in Michigan pending extradition proceedings to Indiana; no initial hearing has been scheduled in his case. The investigation is active, no trial dates exist, and all charges are unadjudicated — neither man has entered a plea publicly or issued any public response. A booking photo of the son had not been released as of October 30.

Impact on Their Career/Life

The case has dismantled whatever remained of Thompson II’s private life in Farmland: he has been jailed since October 14, first on a serious-violent-felon firearms warrant tied by police to a separate Anderson homicide investigation, and now on murder charges in a killing prosecutors allege he orchestrated from the driver’s seat. His 17-year-old son — a teenager with no public profile beyond the “lil Gotto” nickname witnesses gave police — faces the same murder count as an adult and an extradition fight before any trial can begin. The mistaken-identity account, if proven, would mean Wilson died not for anything he had done but for resembling the wrong man, a detail that has sharpened the community’s grief across two counties and drawn national attention to the case.

Sources

NY Post, “Father and son charged with gunning down high school football standout in tragic case of mistaken identity,” Oct 30, 2026 — source
FOX59/CBS4 (Austin Hanson), “Docs: Father-son duo responsible for shooting death of Yorktown High School football standout Chris Wilson Jr.,” Oct 29, 2026 (updated Oct 30) — source
WTHR 13News, “Man charged in connection with fatal Muncie shooting of Yorktown HS football star Chris Wilson,” Oct 30, 2026 — source
Ball State Daily News / NewsLink Indiana, “Two arrests made in shooting death of Yorktown High School student-athlete,” Oct 29, 2026 — source
WIBC 93.1 FM, “Charges Filed Against Man in Murder of Yorktown’s Chris Wilson,” Oct 30, 2026 — source
@nypost trigger tweet, Oct 30, 2026 — source