Affidavit: Two guns found in toilet where murder suspect was found

It was broad daylight when police found Mitchell Coleman Jr. dead behind the wheel of his black Chevy pick-up on Sept. 9 on a Madison street.

Coleman had been shot multiple times. His truck was in park and still running in front of 1015 Washington Ave. when police arrived.

“ … Officers noticed what appeared to be multiple holes in the passenger windows of said truck appearing to have been made by a projectile or a bullet,” said a search warrant filed by Granite City Detective Jeremy Hunter, who was part of the Major Case Squad that investigated Coleman’s murder. The search warrant was obtained by the Belleville News-Democrat.

Police later told reporters that there were 16 rounds of ammunition fired into Coleman’s truck.

Hunter asked to search a home at 925 Grand Ave. in Madison to find clothing, hoodies, blood, blood stains, guns ammunition, drugs and cell phones that belonged to James Moore, who was charged two days later with first-degree murder.

Witnesses told police they saw a man in a dark blue hoodie come from between two houses and fire shots at the victim’s truck. The temperature that day was more than 90 degrees. Some of the witnesses said James “Little James” Moore was the shooter, Hunter wrote in his sworn affidavit.

But Moore, 23, told police that he was in Missouri the night before Coleman was murdered until two hours after police discovered Coleman dead in the truck.

It was Moore’s girlfriend who told a different story, Hunter wrote.

She told police that she saw Moore in Madison throughout the day of the murder and she allowed police to search her Venice apartment, where they found Moore. They also found two guns in a plastic bag in the toilet.

One of Moore’s friends later told police that he picked up Moore at Moore’s home about 1 to 1:30 p.m., just minutes after police received the 911 call about shots fired on Washington Avenue where Coleman’s body was found.

Moore later told police, according to Hunter’s affidavit, that he was involved in Coleman’s murder and gave them a motive. That motive was not listed in the affidavit. Madison County Sheriff’s Capt. Mike Dixon would tell reporters later that Moore “had some discontent” for Coleman.

Dixon also said he thought Coleman couldn’t have even seen Moore approach through the heavily-tinted passenger window. He later called the shooting an “ambush” or “assassination.”

Moore, who was convicted of misdemeanor cannabis possession on 2013, remains in the Madison County Jail in lieu of $250,000 bail.

No trial date has yet been set in his case.

This story was originally published September 26, 2015 at 11:01 AM with the headline "Affidavit: Two guns found in toilet where murder suspect was found."