Man charged with murder after East St. Louis shootings

An East St. Louis man has been charged in connection with the double homicide that occurred April 1 at a beauty salon at Ninth Street and St. Louis Avenue in East St. Louis.

The St. Clair County State’s Attorneys office charged Ike Larry Jr., 23, with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm in the deaths of Andre D. Chapman and Wilbert Hall Jr.

East St. Louis Police Chief Michael Hubbard said Larry Jr. was arrested Thursday. He said the motive was robbery and drug-related.

St. Clair County Coroner Calvin Dye, who was on the scene the night of the shooting, said an autopsy showed Hall died from a gunshot to the chest. Chapman was also shot in the chest, Dye said.

Hall’s grandmother, Pauline Graves, said she was elated that a suspect had been caught.

“I am so happy that they got them people who did this to my grandson. I know it won’t bring him back, but hopefully they will keep him behind bars so he won’t be able to do something like this to somebody else’s child,” Graves said.

St. Clair County Circuit Judge Julie Katz set Larry’s bond at $1.5 million. The case was jointly investigated by East St. Louis and agents with Illinois State Police.

This story was originally published April 7, 2017 at 9:00 PM with the headline "Man charged with murder after East St. Louis shootings."