Poker Writer
Pro poker player James “Matt” Lushin was found shot dead at his Indiana home on March 12, and now an arrest has been made in connection with what is being called a homicide. Westfield police announced the arrest of 50-year-old Ronald Dewayne Brown Jr. of Indianapolis.
Authorities found Lushin with multiple gunshot wounds in his back while lying in a pool of blood at 7:20 p.m. on March 12.
Lushin was a 47-year-old poker player from Kokomo, Indiana. He had career earnings in the hundreds of thousands, according to the Card Player archives. He was an active player with two recent cashes at the World Series of Poker Circuit stop in Hammond in early March and international poker trips in 2025 to Spain and the Netherlands.
Drug Business Gone Wrong Resulted in Lushin’s Death
After Lushin’s death, police uncovered a drug business that they say motivated the murder. Brown allegedly murdered Lushin over thousands of dollars of debt that he owed to Lushin from a drug-dealing partnership.
Police found 11 pounds of marijuana in sealed packaging in a safe at Lushin’s home and close to $16,000 in cash.
According to people who knew Lushin, his business with Brown involved he fronting Brown thousands of dollars of marijuana, from $20,000 to $70,000, to sell. Police said those debts led Brown to murder Lushin.
“The murder of James Lushin by Ronald Brown Jr. would have erased the debt or need to pay back the ‘front’ that Lushin provided Brown,” investigators said.
Court documents showed 16 CashApp transactions from Brown to Lushin. They ranged from hundreds to thousands of dollars. The transactions were titled variously to avoid suspicion. The last one dated to March 5, just a week before Lushin’s murder.
Catching Matt Lushin’s Killer
Police tracked a black Dodge Durango that had scoped out Lushin’s home on the day of the murder. They traced the car back to a rental company at the Indianapolis airport, confirming Brown rented it. Investigators then surveilled Brown around Indianapolis for a few days before raiding his home on March 27.
Brown did not do a very good job of concealing the murder over the two weeks, as police found evidence implicating him. The raiding police found sealed marijuana bags that mirrored the ones found at Lushin’s residence. They also found a Glock 26 handgun underneath a chest of drawers.
The gun was still loaded with ammunition consistent with the caliber and brand used in the shooting of Lushin.
Prosecutors have charged Brown with the murder.
Image credit: DPP Law/Flickr (license)
