NEWCASTLE, WY — A Newcastle man was found dead after an early Sunday shooting tied to a Tinder date, and a South Dakota man is now charged with second-degree murder. Investigators say the case centers on sharply different accounts from the man accused in the shooting and the woman who drove with him to the victim’s home.
Drake Alexander Ingalls of Belle Fourche appeared in court Tuesday, where a Weston County Circuit Court judge set bond at $250,000 cash only and scheduled a preliminary hearing for Aug. 19.
Affidavit says officers found Jason Greene dead on the floor of his trailer
According to a probable cause affidavit by Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation Agent Zack Miller, Newcastle police responded a little before 5 a.m. Sunday and found Jason Greene lying face-down inside the home.
The affidavit says officers discovered a large pool of blood beneath his chest, and emergency medical personnel confirmed that Greene was dead at the scene.
Investigators said Greene had been shot with a hollow-point round in the chest.
Woman says Greene never assaulted her and says Ingalls did not need to shoot
Miller’s affidavit says Ingalls had driven nearly 90 minutes to meet the woman, and the two had been talking on Tinder for weeks or months, depending on which account investigators were given.
After the pair drank for hours at a hotel, the woman said she got a text from Greene calling her a “whore.” She then asked Ingalls to take her to Greene’s residence so she could speak with him.
In her interview, the woman said Greene had never assaulted her and that there was no physical fight. She also told investigators that Ingalls “did not need to shoot that gun at all.”
Ingalls says he fired after hearing the woman yell for help
Ingalls gave a different account, telling investigators he saw Greene struggling with the woman near the doorway and believed Greene was trying to pull her into the trailer.
He said he approached with a handgun, ordered Greene to let her go and fired when he believed the woman was in danger. The affidavit says Ingalls grabbed a 9 mm Glock 17 from his car’s center console and chambered a hollow-point round before approaching the trailer.
After the shooting, Ingalls and the woman drove around the block before returning, and the woman called 911.
Second-degree murder charge could carry 20 years to life if Ingalls is convicted
Ingalls is facing a second-degree murder charge, which could bring a sentence of 20 years to life in prison, a fine of up to $10,000, or both.
The case remains at the pretrial stage following his initial appearance in Weston County court. The affidavit does not say how Greene and the woman knew each other beyond the dispute described to investigators.
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