Two charged with September fatal shooting on Eisenhower Expressway

SUN-TIMES MEDIA WIRE - Two men have been charged in connection with a fatal shooting in the broad daylight last year on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side.

Irell D. Dickens, 29; and Terreon Johnson, 27, each face one count of first-degree murder, Illinois State Police announced Wednesday.

The shooting happened about noon on Sept. 29, 2016 in the eastbound lanes of I-290 at Central Avenue.

Devon Almon, 24, was a passenger in a vehicle driven by a female friend after leaving the Cook County courthouse in Maywood and was stopped at a red light when shots rang out, police said.

The driver took Almon to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he was pronounced dead at 12:20 p.m., authorities said.

The shooting was witnessed by several people who provided a description of the vehicle involved and partial registration information, police said.

Investigators identified Johnson, a member of the Traveling Vice Lords, as a suspect in the shooting of Almon, a New Breed gang member, police said.

On Sept. 30, 2016, Johnson was taken into custody and his garage was searched, police said. The vehicle used in the shooting was found, but he was interviewed and released for lack of evidence.

Investigators then learned that Johnson had coordinated a group of associates to find Almon, follow him and kill him, police said. The murder was retaliation for the killing of an associate of Johnson’s, which happened in July 2016 in Chicago.

Two previous attempts had been made on Almon’s life, police said. The first time was on July 28, 2016, but it was never reported to police. The second was on Aug. 4, 2016. Almon was followed from the Maywood courthouse to Bolingbrook, and multiple suspects tried to kill him at a drive-through fast-food restaurant.

Investigators learned that Dickens, also a Traveling Vice Lord, was involved in the conspiracy to murder Almon, police said.

Johnson was arrested without incident at his workplace on May 9, police said. Dickens was taken into custody at the Lee County Courthouse in Dixon, where he had a court appearance for an unrelated traffic charge.

Johnson and Dickens appeared in court Thursday, and bond was set for each at $2 million, police said.

“I am extremely proud of the hard work of the ISP Investigators,” ISP Director Leo P. Schmitz said in a statement. “If someone shoots a gun on an Illinois expressway, the ISP will use every resource possible to find the offender and bring them to justice.”