A Waukegan man has been charged with murder after a 21-year-old Gurnee man was fatally shot last month during a drug deal that turned into a robbery, investigators said.
Donterrance M. Nixon, 22, of the 600 block of Lenox Avenue in Waukegan, is facing two counts of first-degree murder.
Nixon was identified as a person of interest on Monday by Lake County sheriff’s detectives as someone who may have been involved in a shooting, the sheriff’s office said.
Elliot Jones, 21, of Gurnee, died following a shooting around 9:50 p.m. May 29 in the 36900 block of North Grandwood Drive in unincorporated Gurnee.
The Lake County Sheriff’s Office and Gurnee Fire Department responded and found Jones with at least one gunshot wound to his body in front of his residence.
The man was unresponsive and sheriff’s deputies attempted lifesaving efforts on him before paramedics arrived.
Paramedics transported the man to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville where he was later pronounced dead.
An investigation showed that Nixon and Jones were friends. They spent some time together during the day on May 29 and then went their separate ways in the evening, according to Lake County Sheriff Spokesman Sgt. Christopher Covelli.
The two continued communicating by electronic message and Nixon offered to sell Jones marijuana, but was actually intending on robbing Jones, Covelli said.
Nixon arrived at Jones’ residence and Jones walked to the vehicle where Nixon was seated. Nixon allegedly robbed Jones of the cash he was going to use to buy the marijuana.
“The driver of the vehicle began to drive away as Jones was attempting to open the car door, in an effort to retrieve his stolen money. An occupant in the vehicle then shot Jones,” Covelli said.
Two other people were in the vehicle with Nixon at the time of the shooting.
Nixon was arrested around 6 p.m. Monday during a traffic stop at Northfield Avenue and McAree Road in Waukegan. He also had an active arrest warrant for violating the sex offender registry.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office approved the first-degree murder charges against Nixon due to his involvement in the murder.
Nixon remains held in the Lake County Jail on a $3 million bond. He is scheduled to appear in court on July 1.