BELLEVILLE, Ill. – A person of interest was arrested Thursday in connection with the shooting death of an 18-year-old late Sunday night.
Police canvassed one Belleville neighborhood where 18-year-old Deveon L. Hunt was shot in an alleyway off of West Main Street. Police responded to the 7600 block of West Main Street around 10 p.m. Sunday and stayed through the early morning hours Monday.
On Thursday, the Belleville Police Department announced an arrest of a person of interest. A case against the person of interest was presented to the St. Clair County States' Attorney, and charges are pending.
The victim's father told 5 On Your Side his son was a senior at Belleville West High School.
Most neighbors whose homes face the alleyway, or at not far from the alleyway, said they were asleep or getting ready to call it a night when they were startled by police.
“She was telling me she heard shots that sounded like a gun," Ralleigh said.
The major case squad was activated to investigate. When they arrived, they found Hunt unresponsive. He was transported to Belleville Memorial Hospital where he later died.
“It was just a big shock,” Ralleigh said. “Like someone lost their life in this alley."
“I pretty much don’t feel comfortable living in this neighborhood anymore for something like this to go on,” said Deken Win Jones who lives several houses down the street.
Ralleigh added, “That was my whole point of moving up to this area, that it was pretty safe, and the crime level is down."
Neighbors said drivers do speed down the alley, but that’s the worst of it. A shooting, they said, was unimaginable.
“A mother just lost her son, a father just lost his son,” said Ralleigh.
Police have not released any suspect information or a possible motive.
Scene photos: Police investigating homicide in Belleville, Illinois
More than 20 investigators from the Major Case Squad helped with the case.
“At this point it doesn’t seem like it’s random,” Captain Matt Eiskant with the Belleville Police Department said Monday.
