Metro-east school leader is furious suspects were released on firearms charges
The leader of an East St. Louis school that works to reduce violence by offering youth job training is enraged over a St. Clair County judge’s decision in a firearms case to immediately release one suspect from jail and another in 15 days.
The charges were filed after East St. Louis police responded to a reported shooting outside the Teens Against Killing Everywhere, or TAKE Center, 1798 Summit Ave., on May 28. No injuries were reported.
During a pretrial detention hearing on Tuesday, a prosecutor did not provide evidence to support witness statements to police that shots were fired near the school. Instead, an assistant state’s attorney said a surveillance video shows two people pointing guns out of a window and open door of a Honda that had pulled up to the TAKE Center.
Shots cannot be heard in the video and no bullet casings were recovered, the prosecutor said.
The two suspects — Karon J. Dugan, 18, of Belleville and Jaymonie Rogers, 20, of Cahokia Heights — were ordered by Associate Judge Sara L. Rice to be placed on electronic monitoring devices after they leave the St. Clair County Jail.
Vickie Kimmel, the executive director of the TAKE Center, reacted angrily to the ruling and to the level of charges filed against Dugan and Rogers. She also expressed frustration that two others who were riding in the Honda have not yet been charged.
“People in East St. Louis have not been held to the same standard that they hold people in white communities to,” said Kimmel, who is white. “It seems they are perfectly fine exterminating an entire race of people. And that is not alright. I am very angry over this. They could have killed someone.
“If this would’ve happened at Belleville East, Mascoutah, Shiloh, Fairview Heights or any white community, they would be locked up and they would have thrown the key away,” Kimmel said. “They do not care because it was Black kids shooting at Black kids.”
Dugan was charged with possessing a machine gun and possession of a stolen firearm. Illinois law defines a “machine gun” as a gun that has been converted to shoot automatically. In this case, a Glock 22 .40-caliber handgun had been equipped with a “switch” to convert it from semiautomatic to automatic, authorities said.
Rice ordered Dugan to remain in the county jail for 15 days. He would then be placed on electronic monitoring beginning June 18.
Rogers was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Charging documents allege Rogers had an AR .223-caliber handgun and does not have a state-issued Firearm Owner’s Identification, or FOID, card.
During a detention hearing Monday, Rice released Rogers from the jail but ordered him to be on electronic monitoring, according to court records.
Dugan bought the Glock with a “switch” that converts it from a semiautomatic to an automatic weapon. He told police that he didn’t know the gun was stolen and that he purchased it for $1,000 from a Missouri “dealer” who met Dugan in Illinois for the transaction, according to a prosecutor.
Rice, who noted that Dugan said he was proficient in “gaming technology,” gave this warning to Dugan: “Real life is not a video game.”
Two others arrested following the incident have not been charged.
Along with the electronic monitoring, Rice ordered Dugan and Rogers to undergo mental health evaluations, to stay out of contact with each other and the other suspects, to stay away from the TAKE Center, and to surrender their firearms.
School director reacts
Kimmel has worked at the school for 35 years and railed against the release of Dugan and Rogers.
“What took place in court adds insult to injury,” Kimmel said. “They put him on a monitor and that’s ridiculous.”
She said parenting and educators could do more to lessen the threat of violence at schools.
“We shouldn’t be so comfortable that these school shootings happen as often as they do,” she said. “Parents should take child rearing a little more seriously. Schools should take education more seriously. Coaches and mentors should be in place to coach and mentor these young people who don’t have anybody at home.
“When something like this happens, we should give them a lesson that they will never forget, so they don’t have to do this again and they can grow up and raise families and can be successful adults who can contribute to society in a positive way,” she said.
Detention hearing for suspect
Jack Kloess, a Belleville attorney who represented Dugan, told Rice at Tuesday’s hearing that his client did “something stupid” but should be released from the county jail before his trial.
He said Dugan “didn’t fire” the Glock he was holding.
Kloess also noted that a surveillance video of two suspects pointing the guns does not include audio of shots being fired.
“I could hear birds chirping and little kids playing,” Kloess said of the audio on the surveillance video.
St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Levi Carwile told Rice that no shell casings were recovered from the scene.
Carwile outlined the state’s reasons why Dugan should remain in jail:
▪ Dugan paid $1,000 for a Glock that has a “conversion switch” to convert it from a semiautomatic to an automatic.
▪ Dugan was seen on the surveillance video pointing the modified Glock in the “direction of children” while riding in a Honda outside the TAKE Center while wearing a mask and a hoodie pulled up.
▪ Dugan fled in the car with three others but was later arrested after police stopped the car and caught the suspects who ran from the car.
The Glock was recovered after it was thrown from the getaway car.
Carwile and Kloess sharply disagreed on the purpose of the state law known as the SAFE-T Act, which was the impetus for holding detention hearings for suspects charged with serious crimes.
Carwile argued that Dugan’s actions were a “real and present threat” to the community and he should remain in the county jail pending his trial.
Kloess argued that the new state law was a “more enlightened way” of conducting a criminal justice system and that this was an example of a case where the defendant should be released before his trial.
“I don’t think that’s going to do him any good,” Kloess said of incarcerating Dugan. “He’s a good kid.”
Kloess said there was no evidence to show that shots were fired, adding that “nobody was hurt.”
Dugan graduated from Belleville West High School last month, Kloess said, and is pursuing job prospects with a private delivery company and a St. Louis restaurant.
Rice noted that Dugan did not have prior criminal history before the charges were filed against him on Friday.
Illinois judges have been conducting detention hearings since September 2023 for people charged with serious offenses. If a judge considers a person dangerous to the community, the person can be remanded to the county jail until their trial, according to the revamped criminal justice system that eliminated cash bail as part of the Safety, Accountability, Fairness and Equity-Today, or SAFE-T, Act.
This story was originally published June 5, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
