22-year-old man pleads guilty to murder in shooting death outside Collinsville hotel
A 22-year-old Tilden man will spend four decades in prison for shooting to death a Lenzburg man outside a Collinsville hotel during a robbery attempt two and a half years ago.
Caleb D.E. Smith pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder in a plea agreement with Madison County State’s Attorney Tom Haine’s office. He must serve 100% of the 40-year sentence handed down by Circuit Judge Kyle Napp.
“Thanks to the diligent work of police and assistant state’s attorneys, this defendant will spend most of his adult life behind bars,” Haine stated in a news release. “Violent crime in Madison County will always be met with vigorous prosecution by my office.”
The victim, Devin T. Judd, 23, staggered into the Hampton Inn with gunshot wounds on the night of April 19, 2020. He later died at a St. Louis hospital.
Dakota L. Winters, 27, of Granite City, was charged with one count of armed robbery in the same case. She previously pleaded guilty and received a 14-year prison sentence.
“We hope these prison terms send a message to would-be offenders and provide some justice to the family of the victim,” Haine stated in the news release.
A front-desk clerk at the Hampton Inn, 7 Commerce Drive in Collinsville, called 911 after Judd entered the hotel seeking help about 11:20 p.m. on April 19, 2020. A police report stated that Collinsville Fire Department transported him to St. Louis University Hospital.
By 2:30 a.m., the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis had been called in to assist with the investigation, Collinsville Police Chief Steve Evans said at the time.
Deputy Commander Mark Kuechel, also a Collinsville police detective, reported that more than 20 investigators from three counties worked the area surrounding the hotel.
“It was determined that the victim was killed during a robbery,” Kuechel said at the time. “Within 12 hours, we had two persons of interest in custody. ... The suspects were known to the victim, who spent most of the evening with him leading up to the robbery.”
Kuechel didn’t say where the shooting took place, only that it was “somewhere outside” the hotel.
On April 21, 2020, the office of former State’s Attorney Tom Gibbons charged Smith with three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of armed robbery and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon and charged Winters with one count of armed robbery.
Napp set bond for Smith at $500,000 and Winters at $200,000.
In Monday’s news release, Haine commended the work of Assistant State’s Attorneys Lauren Maricle and Mike Stewart, the prosecutors who secured the lengthy prison sentence for Smith during a plea hearing.
Haine also praised the quick action of the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis, Collinsville Police and Illinois State Police.
This story was originally published October 3, 2022 at 2:00 PM.
