Two charged with murder of Lake Villa man

Two Lake Villa Township men have been charged in the death of a Lake Villa man during a robbery in an alley near his home Saturday night, authorities said.

Jordan L. Toney, 19, of the 39000 block North Poplar Street, and Buddy W. Johnson, 20, of the 21600 block of West Birch Street, were each charged with three counts of first-degree murder Monday in the death of a 58-year-old man just before 10:30 p.m., Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said.

The two were each being held on $5 million bail in Lake County jail.

The identification of the victim is being withheld until family members are notified, Covelli said.

Covelli said the man had just made a purchase at a local store and was walking in an alley behind Walgreens in the 300 block of Grand Avenue when he was spotted by Toney and Johnson, who did not know the man.

Johnson and Toney robbed him, then beat him, Covelli said. During the robbery, the victim was knocked to the ground and one of the attackers grabbed a large sandbag and dropped it on the victim's head, Covelli said. The two ran from the area to a vehicle parked nearby and drove away, Covelli said.

Lake Villa police responded to the area soon after and found the man dead. An autopsy performed Monday morning showed the victim died of multiple traumatic injuries, Covelli said.

Lake Villa detectives and the Major Crimes Task Force handled the investigation.

"First and foremost, I want to extend my deepest heartfelt sympathy to the family and friends of the victim," Lake Villa Police Chief Craig Somerville said in a news release. "This man did nothing wrong. He was an innocent victim, minding his own business when he encountered evil in that alley."

Tahir Khan, who lives about a block away from the crime scene, said he was shocked to hear someone was killed in the neighborhood.

"This is a very nice neighborhood with very few problems," he said. "There's never any issues here. It's usually beautiful."

Somerville said the crime "is not reflective of the community of Lake Villa, a family-orientated town populated by great people."

"This was a tragic, senseless act of random violence that, unfortunately, can occur anywhere," Somerville said.