Round Lake Beach man charged with murder in Zion home invasion

A Round Lake Beach man pleaded not guilty Thursday to his role in the shooting death of a Zion woman during a February home invasion, authorities said.

Zavian D. Wells, 25, of the 1900 block of North Cedar Lake Road, is facing three felony counts of first-degree murder and additional felony counts of attempted murder, home invasion and aggravated battery with a firearm for his role in the Feb. 16 shooting that killed a 26-year-old woman and injured two others, said Cynthia Vargas, spokeswoman for the Lake County state's attorney's office.

If found guilty at trial, Wells can be sentenced up to life behind bars.

Vargas said Wells and an unidentified person entered an apartment on Edina Boulevard about 1:30 p.m. with a semiautomatic handguns after the two saw a video on social media of a man showing off money he won from a personal injury lawsuit.

Wells and the second person - who remains at large - fired multiple shots from a handgun inside the apartment, striking three people, Vargas said.

After the shooting, witnesses saw the two drive away in a white Chevy Impala, Vargas said.

Zion police were called at 1:41 p.m. and found three people injured from gunfire, officials said in a news release.

Kaleah Beville was taken via helicopter to Advocate Condell Medical Center in Libertyville, where she died later that day from multiple gunshot wounds, Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper said.

The 24-year-old man and his 43-year-old mother were taken to the hospital, Zion Police Chief Steve Dumyahn said.

Vargas said members of the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force used video surveillance in the area to track the vehicle identification back to Wells.

At the time Wells was charged March 20, he was in Lake County jail and accused of aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon, Dumyahn.

Wells was assigned a July 30 trial in front of Judge Victoria Rossetti.