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Aurora detectives honored for work that set innocent man free

Two veteran Aurora Police Department detectives have received national and state honors for leading an investigation that ultimately resulted in a former Aurora man being freed from prison and his murder conviction thrown out.

Aurora investigators John Munn and Darrell Moore recently were recognized by the International Association of Chiefs of Police and the Illinois Public Defenders Association for their work stemming from the slaying of 20-year-old Montgomery resident Shawn Miller.

The investigators reopened the 2000 case after new witnesses came forward indicating the man found guilty of Miller’s murder, Jonathan Moore, was not involved in the fatal shooting.

Moore had been sentenced in 2002 to 75 years in prison, but he was freed in March after Kane County State’s Attorney Joe McMahon and Aurora Police Chief Greg Thomas announced that the conviction was vacated.

Moore was 19 when he was charged with gunning down Miller at about 5:45 a.m. Aug. 24, 2000, outside a Laundromat. A 17-year-old from Chicago also was shot and paralyzed in what authorities deemed a gang-related shooting.

In April 2011, detectives Munn and Moore received information from a confidential informant indicating that Moore may have been wrongfully convicted. They reinterviewed previous witnesses and found 10 new people who had information on the case, but did not originally come forward, Aurora police said.

Munn and Moore were among six honorable mentions during the IACP/Target International Police Officer of the Year Awards at the organization’s national conference Oct. 2 in San Diego.

The two detectives, along with Thomas, also received Awards of Excellence from the Public Defender’s Association Oct. 12.

It was the first time that police officers received the award from the organization, which is made up of public defenders from across the state.

People with information on Miller’s murder should call Aurora police at (630) 256-5500 or Aurora Crime Stoppers at (630) 892-1000.

Learn about online safety: The FBI has launched a website to help children surf the Internet in a safer way.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, with the input of teachers and schools, helped develop the FBI-SOS (Safe Online Surfing) Internet Challenge.

“FBI-SOS is a fun, free, and effective way to teach kids how to use the Internet safely and responsibly,” said Scott McMillion, head of the unit that manages the program in the FBI’s Criminal Investigative Division. “We encourage teachers to check out the site and sign up their classes during the school year.”

Visitors can access the program, which contains different levels for students up through sixth grade, at https://sos.fbi.gov.

The FBI also has a Child ID app for smartphones. It provides an easy way for parents to use their smartphones to store pictures and information on their kids and get it to authorities quickly if a child is ever lost or missing.

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