Good police work led to swift apprehension of Akil Ward (inset) in hit-and-run

Good detective work and police technology led to swift apprehension of suspect

Contributed By: The 411 News

Akil Khalfani Ward, age 41, of Gary, has been identified and charged as the driver who left the scene of an automobile accident that resulted in the death of Eunikue Roberson, age 17.

According to the probable cause affidavit charging Ward from the Office of the Lake County Prosecutor, at 5:51am on the morning of Saturday, January 4, Gary Police was dispatched to 5th Avenue & Madison for a personal injury accident.

The GPD Officer found Ms. Roberson lying in the road along 5th Avenue. She was deceased. Nearby were an electric scooter and parts from a vehicle.

By 4pm Saturday, good detective work and police technology led to Ward at his residence on Gary’s west side.

Police investigators determined the parts were remnants from a vehicle’s front bumper, grill, and headlights. On the grill was a part number, connecting it to a Dodge Durango. .

A GPD detective followed the fresh fluid trail from the crash occurrence. The fluid trail led eastbound on W. 5th Ave. from Madison St., turning southbound onto Adams St., turning westbound onto W. 8th Avenue until it was lost.

Next, detectives searched Gary’s “Operation Safe Zone” cameras. These video cameras belong to commercial entities in Gary and capture images around their perimeter 24 hours a day. The video is on a continuous feed into the police department’s FUSUS platform where it is monitored by personnel at the GPD’s Real Time Crime Center.

Personnel at the center were asked to search for images of Ms. Roberson and a Dodge Durango between the hours of 5am and 6am on January 4th. Video was found of Ms. Roberson riding the scooter on the sidewalk, eastbound along 5th Avenue and the Dodge Durango, also eastbound on 5th Avenue.

Investigators next searched the department’s Flock License Plate Recognition system for a Dodge Durango. These cameras capture images of vehicles and license plates as they pass. The LPR system captured images of a gray Dodge Durango and its license plate number. The vehicle was registered to Akil Ward, a Gary resident.

Significant to detectives were images of the Durango the cameras captured before and after GPD received a call for service to the accident scene at 5th & Madison. Images of the Durango prior to the call showed the vehicle with both head lights illuminated. Images after the call showed the Durango with only one head light working.

At 4:08pm Saturday, detectives had obtained a search warrant for Ward’s home and garage. Detectives arrived at Ward’s residence and he agreed to speak with them at the Gary Public Safety Facility, 555 Polk Street.

In the interview with detectives, Ward said he was driving the Durango on his way to work and thought he had hit a deer. Ward said he drove down a couple of blocks and stopped to look at the damage briefly.

Ward told the detectives he returned home because the Durango was starting to overheat.

Ward was released after posting bail.

Story Posted:01/09/2025