Belleville man charged with murder in the shooting death of a man in Cahokia Heights
A Belleville man has been charged in the death of one of two people shot in Cahokia Heights on Friday afternoon.
Deandre Reed, 20, was arrested a short time after the shooting and was charged Sunday, authorities said.
The complaint filed by St. Clair County State’s Attorney James Gomric’s office states that Reed is accused of shooting Keon Dotts, 21, also of Belleville, who died later at a St. Louis hospital.
Reed is being held in the St. Clair County Jail. St. Clair County Circuit Court Judge Tameeka Purchase set bail at $1 million.
Reed is charged with two counts of murder, both involving Dotts’ death, the complaint states. One charge is murder/intent to kill/injure and the second is murder/strong probability to kill/injure, according the complaint.
Police from the around the region responded to reports of shots fired involving multiple people at 3 p.m. Friday in Cahokia Heights.
In addition to Dotts, a second person - a 17-year-old male - was injured and taken to a St. Louis area children’s hospital, where he was being treated Sunday, according to Ben Callahan, assistant chief of police for Cahokia Heights.
The identity of the 17-year-old was not released. No one has been charged in his shooting.
Callahan said officers responding to the shooting found Dotts lying in a yard on West Adams Drive.
“While officers were tending to the victim, another call came out about a victim inside of a house on West Adams with a gunshot wound,” Callahan said.
Police are still investigating what happened Friday afternoon, but so far, they have determined that a conflict between multiple people resulted in the shooting, according to Callahan.
A quick-thinking Cahokia Heights police sergeant immediately requested assistance from surrounding police agencies to set up a perimeter.
Callahan said Reed fled to a nearby assisted living facility but was unable to get inside. He was caught a short time later by an assisting police agency, Callahan said.
Callahan said he is grateful to all of the agencies that assisted Cahokia Heights Police.
He said their quick response in helping to set up a perimeter helped police capture the suspect as quickly as they did. Officers from Sauget, Illinois State Police, St. Clair County and Monroe County responded.
This story was originally published May 16, 2021 at 4:39 PM.
