Chicago man convicted in 2008 Elgin murder

A Chicago man who shot and killed a 29-year-old Elgin man outside an Elgin nightclub in 2008 was found guilty Thursday and faces at least 60 years in prison, according to prosecutors.

Jurors deliberated for less than two hours before finding Dion Spears, 29, guilty of first-degree murder, armed violence and unlawful possession of a controlled substance.

Spears, of the 9700 block of South Princeton Avenue in Chicago, shot Derrick Bey once in the chest and once below the waist outside LaMovida Banquet Hall, 840 N. State St., about 2:20 a.m. on Feb. 3, 2008.

After shooting the man with a Colt .32-caliber revolver, Spears attempted to run across State Street and was struck by a passing vehicle.

Spears was seriously injured when he was struck. While in the ambulance, an officer found a loaded semiautomatic handgun on Spears, and at the hospital, authorities found less than a gram of cocaine hidden in his mouth.

Spears suffered serious back injuries when he was struck by the vehicle after shooting Bey and was in drug-induced unconscious state for a time.

Spears was on parole for a 2005 drug conviction when he killed Bey.

He is due in court July 24 for his sentencing.