Tilden man charged with murder after fatal shooting near Collinsville hotel
The Madison County State’s Attorney’s office Tuesday filed charges against a pair they say are involved in the death of Devin T. Judd, the Lenzburg man who had staggered into a Collinsville hotel lobby with gunshot wounds.
Caleb D.E. Smith, 20, of Tilden, faces three counts of first-degree murder and one count each of armed robbery and unlawful possession of weapons by a felon. Dakota L. Winters, 24, of Granite City, was charged with a single count of armed robbery.
According to Major Case Squad Deputy Commander Mark Kuechel, also a Collinsville detective, Judd knew Smith and Winters and was with them in the hours leading up to the robbery and shooting Sunday night.
It was a front-desk clerk at the Hampton Inn, 7 Commerce Dr. in Collinsville, who called 911 after Judd, 23, entered the hotel seeking help at about 11:20 p.m.
According to a police report, Judd was taken by the Collinsville Fire Department to St. Louis University Hospital, where he later died. By 2:30 a.m. the Major Case Squad was called to assist the investigation, Collinsville Police Chief Steve Evans said Tuesday.
Kuechel said more than 20 investigators from three counties worked the area surrounding the scene over the next 12 hours.
“It was determined that the victim was killed during a robbery,” Kuechel said. “Within 12 hours had two person of interest in custody. ... The suspects were known to the victim who spent most of the evening with him leading up to the robbery.”
Announcement of the charges was made during a virtual press conference broadcast on Facebook Live.
Kuechel did not say where the shooting took place, only that it was “somewhere outside” the hotel. The type of weapon used also has not been released.
As of Tuesday afternoon, both Smith and Winters were being held at the Collinsville police department awaiting transfer to the Madison County Jail, Evans said.
Judge Kyle Napp set bond for Winters at $200,000 and Smith at $500,000.
First Assistant Madison County State’s Attorney Crystal Uhe expressed condolences to Judd’s family and thanked the Major Case Squad. She said the three murder counts “ensures that Caleb Smith faces a lifetime in prison.”
This story was originally published April 21, 2020 at 4:33 PM.
