2 teens charged in slaying of a retired Gary firefighter

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) - Two teenage boys have made their first court appearances after being charged in the slaying of a retired Gary firefighter who was a member of the high school basketball team that won the 1968 state title.

The boys, ages 15 and 16, are charged as adults in the killing of Wallace 'œWally'ť Broadnax, 70, who was fatally shot last June in the parking lot of a Gary gas station.

A Lake County magistrate entered not guilty pleas on behalf of each boy Tuesday during their initial hearings. Both teens face two felony counts each of murder and attempted armed robbery.

The magistrate granted their requests to be represented by public defenders in the case. Both boys are being held at the Lake County Juvenile Center, The (Northwest Indiana) Times reported.

Broadnax was fatally shot on June 26, 2021, during an attempted robbery after he had left a Gary gas station where he was regular customer.

Broadnax had worked for the Gary Fire Department for more than 25 years before his retirement.

He was on Roosevelt High School's 1968 state championship basketball team, whose members were honored by the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame during anniversary banquets in 1993 and 2018, assistant director Kayla Kessler said last year.