Metro-east crime roundup: Murder charges, child porn and fatal dog cruelty

Southwestern Illinois law enforcement filed charges in multiple violent crimes over the past weeks, including two murder cases, a child sexual abuse material investigation and an animal cruelty incident that ended with the death of a Rottweiler. Vehicle thefts statewide also dropped sharply, though Illinois still ranks third nationally.

Here are key takeaways:

• Illinois reported 28,327 stolen vehicles in 2025, ranking third nationally, with the Hyundai Elantra topping the list at 1,125 thefts, according to National Insurance Crime Bureau data.
• Cameron D. Gasser, 20, of Coulterville faces four Class X felony counts of reproducing child sexual abuse material and six Class 2 felony possession counts after a task force search at his Belleville workplace.
• Illinois State Police are investigating the fatal shooting of Dewayne T. Wright Jr., 22, of Belleville, who was found dead near Washington Street and North 84th Street in East St. Louis around 10 p.m. Saturday.
• Brion D. Bess, 23, of Swansea was charged with first-degree murder after Ni’Kajha A.K. Johnson, 24, was shot inside her vehicle at a stop sign at 25th Street and Ridge Avenue in East St. Louis.
• Timothy J. Dubois Jr., convicted last month on 10 counts of sexual assault and kidnapping in the 2022 Collinsville Starbucks abduction, is seeking a new trial by challenging his videotaped confession and apology letter as products of illegal interrogations.
• DeShawn Bell, 35, of East St. Louis was identified as the victim of a May 13 shooting at Crown Food Mart in Cahokia Heights, declared dead at Touchette Regional Hospital at 10:14 p.m.
• Justin N. Jones, 36, was charged with first-degree murder in Bell’s death and also faces a weapons charge as a repeat felony offender with prior convictions in 2012 and 2020.
• Prosecutors allege Jason A. McCallum, 18, killed Travion Sherrod, 38, in Venice on May 26 as revenge for an earlier shooting of McCallum’s friend Kendall White.
• A Rottweiler died after being dragged from a vehicle on Bunkum Road in Washington Park, with the suspect held on a 48-hour hold in St. Clair County Jail pending charges.
• Three men were arrested after a reported attempted home invasion in unincorporated Dupo, with charges including aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and reckless discharge of a firearm.

The summary points above were compiled with the help of AI tools and edited by journalists. The source reporting referenced above was written and edited entirely by journalists.