Men charged in Beach Park double murder accused of more crimes

Additional charges were filed against the two Waukegan men prosecutors say are responsible for the shooting deaths of a Beach Park couple in December.

Darenell D. Hill, 35, and Timothy D. Triplett Jr., 34, both were previously charged with first-degree murder in the Dec. 8 killings of Carlos Rodas Perez, 52, and Mercedes Rodas, 49, in the garage of their Beach Park home.

This week, Hill was charged in an unrelated armed robbery of a Beach Park business in December, Triplett had additional first-degree murder charges levied against him connected to the killings of Perez and Rodas.

On Thursday, Lake County sheriff's Lt. Chris Covelli said investigators had used fingerprint and DNA analysis to connect Hill to an armed robbery that happened at a Beach Park business on Christmas Eve. Covelli said Hill entered the store with a firearm, demanded money from the store's manager and left with cash from the cash registers. Covelli said evidence technicians processed fingerprints left around the store during the robbery and confirmed they were a match for Hill.

As a result, Hill is also charged with single counts of armed robbery, unlawful possession of a weapon by a felon and being armed habitual criminal.

Also this week, prosecutors altered the charges against Triplett. Triplett was originally charged with two counts of first-degree murder but is now charged with six counts of first-degree murder, according to Lake County state's attorney office spokesman Jim Newton on Wednesday.

Newton said the new charges allege that Triplett personally discharged a firearm during the murders of the Beach Park couple.

Triplett pleaded not guilty to the new charges at a hearing Wednesday.

Both men remain in the Lake County jail. Bail for both men was set at $5 million, so each would need to put up $500,000 in cash to be released before trial.

Hill is next due in court on June 16. Triplett is next due in court on Aug. 11.