PEORIA, Ill. – A Peoria man will remain in jail on charges in connection to a fatal shooting and crash last weekend.
The Peoria County State’s Attorney’s Office says 20-year-old Karon Hopkins appeared in court on Friday for a detention hearing.
Hopkins is charged with First-Degree Murder in the shooting death of 26-year-old Malik Pickett, and Reckless Homicide for the death of 52-year-old Gray Traylor in a crash following the shooting. Prosecutors played surveillance video of both incidents during the detention hearing.
The incident occurred at around 2:45 A.M. on August 22nd. Peoria Police responded after multiple shots were fired near the Vibes nightclub. Officers found Pickett had been shot more than ten times.
Surveillance footage reportedly shows a white sedan abruptly stopping in the road outside the nightclub, where several people were gathered. A man that was identified as Hopkins allegedly got out of the vehicle, ran up to Pickett, and fired his gun multiple times. Hopkins reportedly stood over Pickett and continued to shoot him while he lay on the ground.
Pickett was taken to a local hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
Prosecutors say Hopkins then got back into the vehicle, which sped down Howett at speeds of more than 90 miles per hour. The vehicle allegedly ran a red light at the intersection of Howett and Western, where it struck and killed Traylor, who was walking across the street. The vehicle eventually crashed into a utility pole on Western.
Prosecutors stated that the vehicle was traveling at such a high-rate of speed that it severed Traylor’s body.
Officers reportedly recovered two firearms from the crashed vehicle that matched shell casings from the shooting.
The other person inside the sedan was also identified as 18-year-old Dorrean Ellis, who prosecutors say remains hospitalized.
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