Prosecutors say a 17-year-old boy charged with murder, along with three other gunmen, fired over 20 shots at a car as it was driving away, killing a 29-year-old man in Waukegan Monday evening.
Daveion L. Gordon-Brown, 17, of Waukegan, is charged as an adult with two counts of first-degree murder, a Class M felony.
The Waukegan Police Department responded just before 7 p.m. Monday to the area of 8th Street and Lincoln Avenue in Waukegan for a report of shots fired.
The initial call to police reported that a white Nissan SUV was involved and witnesses saw the Nissan flee the scene immediately after the shooting, Lake County Assistant State’s Attorney Jeffery Facklam said.
Officers found over 20 spent shell casings at the scene but no one who appeared to be involved in the shooting was still there, Facklam said.
The casings included 14 9mm casings, six to seven rifle casings and 10mm casings, meaning they came from guns of three different calibers, according to Facklam.
Police learned during the investigation that someone had been taken to Vista Medical Center East in Waukegan with gunshot wounds.
The victim, Koron Gibson, 29, of Waukegan, had been driven to the hospital by friends or family before officers arrived at the scene and was pronounced dead a short time later, according to the Lake County Coroner’s Office.
An autopsy showed Gibson died from multiple gunshot wounds, Lake County Coroner Jennifer Banek said.
Facklam said investigators determined through witnesses and video that Gibson had been in a Chevrolet Malibu with two to three other people.
Investigators believe the two groups had arranged to meet at that location for some type of exchange but the reason for the meeting is still under investigation by police, Facklam said.
A surveillance camera captured five subjects before the shooting in the area where investigators believe they were picked up by the Nissan..
Facklam said only one of the five was wearing all-dark clothing with a white pattern across the chest and light-colored pants.
Surveillance video and witness statements helped officers learn that the Nissan was carrying three females and five males, Facklam said.
The video shows the Nissan on Lincoln Avenue near 8th Street and Gibson’s Malibu pulling up behind it before driving in front of the Nissan and parking, Facklam said.
Two to three people got out of the Malibu and five males got out of the Nissan before the group walked northeast around a corner and out of the camera’s view, Facklam said.
The group returned a short time later and two to three people got back into the Malibu.
Facklam said one male began getting into the Nissan while the other four stayed outside where they began shooting toward the Malibu as it was driving away.
The video shows muzzle flashes from all of the individuals and one of the shooters can be seen wearing gray sweatpants and a black hoodie with distinct white lettering on the front, Facklam said.
Still images from another camera show four of the five subjects running away after the shooting.
Officers located the Nissan and began a pursuit but the driver refused to stop for emergency lights and sirens, Facklam said.
Two to three males got out of the Nissan near Glen Flora Country Club during the pursuit and threw guns, Facklam said.
Evidence technicians recovered a handgun and a rifle pistol in that area and police found two cell phones and a firearm magazine along the path of the pursuit.
Facklam said North Chicago officers saw Gordon-Brown run from the Nissan and a third gun, a 9mm handgun, was recovered in the street near where he got out.
Officers found Gordon-Brown hiding under a parked truck and he was wearing gray sweatpants and a black hoodie with distinct white lettering on the front when he was taken into custody, Facklam said.
The pursuit lasted about an hour and traveled through North Chicago, Waukegan, Park City and Gurnee before Illinois State Police troopers brought it to an end in the area of 12th Street and Elizabeth Avenue in Waukegan around 8:25 p.m., Waukegan Deputy Police Chief Craig Neal said.
Neal said officers apprehended four juvenile suspects from the Nissan in total.
Gordon-Brown was transported to the Hulse Detention Center in Vernon Hills and appeared virtually for a First Appearance Court hearing on Wednesday where Lake County Judge Michael Nerheim informed him he was being charged as an adult.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office filed a petition to detain Gordon-Brown pending trial, arguing his release would pose a real and present threat to the safety of the community.
He appeared by Zoom from the Hulse Detention Center again for a detention hearing Friday afternoon and Lake County Judge Paul Novak granted the petition, ordering him detained pending trial.
Facklam said Gordon-Brown has no criminal history but was not legally allowed to possess a handgun.
“The defendant, along with three other individuals, opened fire on a vehicle that was already beginning to drive away, striking and killing one person,” Facklam said.
“Though the defendant is 17 years old, with no criminal history, there is no way this Court could possibly predict if he would follow any conditions of release that could possibly mitigate the incredible threat this Defendant’s release would pose to the community were he to be released,” Facklam said.
Facklam said at the hearing that Gordon-Brown was armed and with a group of armed people who all began firing toward a vehicle as it started to drive away in daylight at a busy residential intersection.
“It is the epitome of danger,” Facklam said.
Facklam said opening fire with a gun Gordon-Brown was not legally allowed to have in a residential neighborhood with other people and vehicles around shows how dangerous he is to the community and to witnesses in the case.
Lake County Assistant Public Defender Gregg Wolpoff argued that prosecutors had not shown that the proof is evident or the presumption great that Gordon-Brown committed the offense, adding that there were a number of discrepancies in the police reports.
Wolpoff said officers at times lost sight of some of the people who got out of the Nissan and found a weapon without seeing anyone throw it.
One police report mentions two males getting out of the Nissan while another mentions only one, Wolpoff said.
Wolpoff said the biggest issue is that it is not known whether Gibson was in the car seen being shot at in the video.
Staff at Vista told investigators that a car pulled up and they saw two men outside of it arguing, with one saying “this is your fault,” Wolpoff said.
Wolpoff said there is no evidence so far tying that car to the shooting, such as the bullet holes.
The defense attorney said that Gordon-Brown could live with his grandmother if released and attends an alternative school online so he would not need to leave her home.
Facklam said in response that witnesses told police the Malibu was the vehicle at that location and that its occupants drove Gibson, who was inside when he was shot, to the hospital.
Novak said he watched the roughly 30-second video twice.
The video shows the group walking from what appears to be a gangway or alley onto a sidewalk toward two waiting cars, a white car that appears to be a Nissan and a red Malibu, Novak said.
Novak said there were clear muzzle flashes from the group’s weapons toward the Malibu as it raced away.
Novak said he saw more than 10 muzzle flashes and confirmed on his second viewing that some came from an extended arm of what appears to be Gordon-Brown in gray sweatpants and a black sweatshirt with unique writing on it.
Some of the group tried to get into the Nissan as the Malibu raced away while Gordon-Brown ran around the front of a home and away with one or two others, Novak said.
Novak said the shooting happened in daylight on a typical city street lined with homes and the angle of the gunfire could easily have sent bullets into neighbors’ houses across the street.
Novak cited the “execution style” shooting into a vehicle loaded with people and found that no combination of conditions could mitigate the threat Gordon-Brown poses to the community.
Three people were shot Wednesday evening after multiple gunmen fired over 50 shots during a balloon release vigil for Gibson at Cinnamon Lake Towers, 2725 West Glen Flora Avenue in Waukegan.
No arrests have been announced in that shooting.
No charges have been announced against the other suspects arrested after the chase.
Gordon-Brown is scheduled to appear in court again on October 20 for a preliminary hearing.