Bail set for two suspects in Naperville murder said to arise from gun sale dispute
Bail was set at $4 million Friday for a 20-year-old Bellwood man accused of fatally shooting an Aurora teenager Sunday in Naperville in a dispute during a gun sale.
Robert Chatman-Jones, of the 300 block of 24th Street, appeared before DuPage County Judge Ann Celine O'Hallaren Walsh.
Walsh also set bail at $1.5 million for a co-defendant, Desire J. Gray, 19, of the 1900 block of Ashwood Lane in Aurora.
Both are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery and attempted armed robbery.
Coreon D. Davis, 18, of Aurora died after being shot in the back of the head behind the right ear, according to a description of the incident Assistant State's Attorney Kristin Sullivan read in court. The bullet exited his forehead. He died Wednesday at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
The shooting happened around 2:09 p.m. Sunday on the 600 block of Amersale Drive in Naperville.
According to Sullivan, Chatman-Jones arranged to meet with Davis to buy a black semi-automatic gun for $500. Davis asked for a ride from a friend, a minor identified in court only by his initials.
Chatman-Jones approached the minor's car and gave Davis an unknown amount of money. Davis told Chatman-Jones it wasn't enough.
The minor, who was driving the car, began to pull away slowly, letting the car roll. A struggle broke out, and Davis was shot twice, including once in the left hand. The minor suffered a gunshot wound to the lower leg. He was treated and released Sunday.
The incident, caught on video from a distant camera, took nine seconds, Sullivan said.
Aurora police found the victims a short distance from the scene where the minor had driven and then called police.
A dashboard camera in a passing car caught the license plate of Gray's car on video, helping police track her and Chatman-Jones.
According to Sullivan, cellphone data showed Chatman-Jones and Gray drove Gray's Nissan Sentra to Bellwood, Broadview and then the West Side of Chicago. In two of those stops, witnesses told police that Chatman-Jones admitted to shooting Davis, Sullivan said.
A gun recovered from Gray's car was identified as the murder weapon, Sullivan said. She described the gun in court as a "ghost gun, meaning he bought parts and put it together."
Sullivan read in court a text conversation between Chatman-Jones and Gray from the early hours of Sunday morning in which they talked about their plans for the meeting with Davis.
Chatman-Jones, a 2019 graduate of Proviso West High School, faces 45 years to life in prison if found guilty, Sullivan said.
On Friday morning, Gray appeared to faint during her appearance in court. She was caught by DuPage County sheriff's deputies, who then asked that the courtroom be emptied. She was removed from the courtroom 15 minutes later.
Gray returned to court about two hours later to finish her hearing.
Last October, Chatman-Jones pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years of probation for aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a person under 21 in a 2019 case in Oak Brook.
Gray and Chatman-Jones will be arraigned on Sept. 28.