Aurora

2 Charged with Murder of Suburban Teenager

Two men have been charged with the murder of a 19-year-old man last month in west suburban Aurora.

Leon D. Williams, 21, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and two counts of armed robbery; and Keyonn S. Lovelace, 18, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of armed robbery in the death of 19-year-old Daniel Sanchez, according to a statement from Aurora police.

Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 12:05 p.m. on Nov. 7 found Sanchez with gunshot wounds to the head and leg in an industrial area in the 600 block of South Elmwood Drive, police said.

He was taken to Presence Mercy Medical Center in Aurora, then airlifted to Advocate Good Samaritan Hospital in Downers Grove, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, police said.

Williams scheduled a meeting to buy cannabis from Sanchez, but instead enlisted Lovelace to help rob Sanchez of his drugs and cash, police said. After agreeing on a meeting place, Lovelace drove Williams to Ridgeway Avenue and Lake Street, picked up Sanchez, and drove to the 600 block of South Elmwood.

After stopping the vehicle, Williams, who was in the backseat with Sanchez, pulled out a handgun he had gotten earlier from Lovelace and demanded Sanchez’s money and marijuana, police said. A struggle broke out and a shot was fired.

Sanchez jumped out of the vehicle and Williams chased him and fired two more shots, police said. One shot struck Sanchez in the leg and the other struck him in the head.

Detectives found surveillance video from neighboring businesses that linked Williams and Lovelace to the murder, police said. Lovelace was arrested and the handgun thought to be used in the murder was recovered from his home at 2:15 a.m. Friday. Williams was arrested at 5 p.m. Friday.

An 18-year-old Aurora man who was with Williams and Lovelace at the time of the shooting was released without being charged.

Williams and Lovelace, both of Aurora, are scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday.

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