How Did Lyft and Vehicle Records Connect Devin Powell to Anthony Garland’s Trip?

Which records tied Powell to the trip

Garland was driving his 2013 GMC Acadia. The Court of Appeals, describing the probable-cause affidavit, said police later located that vehicle through its GPS information. Lyft records identified Powell as the last person to request a ride from Garland.

Officers stopped the Acadia in Merrillville. Powell was the driver. Another man was in the passenger seat. Officers saw blood around the center console and found a firearm under the front seat. Bullets from Garland’s autopsy matched that firearm.

Powell’s first account did not mention a Lyft request. He said he found the vehicle running while walking to a gas station and drove it away when no one came back. After a break in the interview, he admitted he had used Lyft to request the ride and that he shot Garland. He said he acted in self-defense.

Those are the records the opinion uses to connect the rider, the SUV, and the stop in Merrillville. The opinion does not describe a separate booking printout beyond the Lyft record that Powell was the last person to request a ride from Garland, and the GPS location of Garland’s Acadia.

What the plea and the appeal decided

The written plea capped the sentence at 55 years and waived an appeal of any sentence inside that cap, including review under Indiana Appellate Rule 7(B). At the January 27, 2025 hearing, the judge imposed 55 years. The judge then told Powell he could appeal a sentence within the plea. The prosecutor agreed that Powell could appeal the sentence, not the conviction.

The State later asked the Court of Appeals to dismiss based on the written waiver. A motions panel dismissed the appeal on May 30, 2025. Powell asked the Indiana Supreme Court to review that dismissal. He did not argue that the plea was involuntary. He argued that the prosecutor gave up the waiver at sentencing.

On October 10, 2025, the Indiana Supreme Court granted transfer, vacated the dismissal, and sent the case back for briefing on that waiver question. The order says, “We express no opinion on the merits.” Justice Slaughter dissented. Chief Justice Rush and Justices Massa, Goff, and Molter concurred.

The January 30, 2026 memorandum decision then held that the prosecutor’s remark did not modify or abandon the written waiver. It also said that even if Powell could argue the sentence was inappropriate, his arguments were not persuasive. He had asked for 45 years. The court affirmed 55 years.

The decision is a memorandum decision. Under Indiana Appellate Rule 65(D), it is not binding precedent.

What the trial judge said about the ride

At sentencing, the trial judge told Powell: “This isn’t somebody you had a fight with, this isn’t somebody you were buying drugs from. This is somebody who just came to pick you up in a Lyft.” The court also heard evidence about the effect on Garland’s wife and son.

That comment is about who Garland was on the trip. It is not a separate booking record. The records that identified the rider remain the Lyft request and the GPS location of his Acadia.

Primary records: Indiana Court of Appeals, Devin Powell v. State, No. 25A-CR-447, January 30, 2026; Indiana Supreme Court published order, October 10, 2025.

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