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State police using expressway cameras to solve shootings

Illinois State Police will begin using surveillance cameras already posted along Chicago-area expressways to help solve crimes such as the 76 shootings reported since the beginning of 2016.

Director Leo P. Schmitz said Wednesday the cameras will help "in bringing to justice" people responsible for expressway shootings.

In many cases, he said, the violence didn't start on the roads, but spilled over from conflicts that began elsewhere.

"Most of the people who've been shot on expressways, it's been a gang-related shooting," Schmitz said during a news conference in Downers Grove.

The cameras already trained on expressways will be used in select locations to monitor for criminal activity and potentially provide evidence if crimes occur.

Schmitz would not say the number of cameras state police are using or where they are located. He said the department might look into installing additional cameras if the first batch proves helpful.

Schmitz said the cameras will supplement solid police work, which he credited for new murder charges in a Chicago expressway shooting that took place last fall.

Two known gang members - Terreon Johnson, 27, and Irell Dickens, 29, both of Chicago - have been charged with murder in connection with the fatal shooting Sept. 29 on an I-290 eastbound off-ramp at Central Avenue in Chicago, Schmitz said.

They are accused of conspiring to shoot and kill Devon Almon, 24, of Chicago, who was riding in a car driven by a friend about noon when he was shot dead while waiting at a traffic signal.

Schmitz said an investigation determined the shooting was in retaliation for a July 2016 killing of an associate of Johnson's, and the two suspects had made previous attempts to kill Almon in Chicago and Bolingbrook.

"If someone shoots a gun on an Illinois expressway, the Illinois State Police will use every resource possible" to solve the case, Schmitz said - even if it takes repeated rounds of interviews with witnesses and reviews of forensic and video evidence.

"In our state, crimes will not be tolerated," he said, "especially the firing of weapons on expressways."

Schmitz thanked troopers, crime scene investigators and detectives for their diligence in solving Almon's shooting in Chicago, along with suburban shootings last Halloween on I-290 near Elmhurst and April 22 along I-88 near Oak Brook.

Allante James Sewell, 23, of Frankfort, has been charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm in connection with the Halloween shooting, which struck the driver's side door of the victim's vehicle.

Anthony Tillmon, 34, of Lansing, has been charged with first-degree murder in the April shooting, which killed Eduardo Munoz, 43, of Northlake, in what has been described as a road-rage case.

If drivers see a shooting or other criminal activity along an expressway, Schmitz urged them to dial 911.

"You can help stop a future shooting," he said.

In addition to the new camera use plan, Schmitz said state police are hiring about 100 more troopers this summer, many of whom will be deployed in the Chicago and suburban regions.

  Illinois State Police, troopers, detectives, crime scene investigators and officials are recognized Wednesday by Director Leo P. Schmitz for their work solving shootings along Chicago-area expressways. Marie Wilson/mwilson@dailyherald.com
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