By Brian Stanley
Two 26-year-old men were shot to death in separate incidents in Joliet last week.
The first occurred at 11:54 a.m. March 25 when shots were reported near Cutter Avenue and Ada Street. Officers arrived to find Dimitri Allen laying in the front yard of a Cutter Avenue residence.
Allen, who had been shot in the chest, was taken to Silver Cross Hospital but died from his injuries. Sgt. Chris Botzum said Allen lived in the area where he was found.
“At this point, we have not developed any suspect information to release,” Botzum said late last week. Investigators are seeking help from the public – including any residents of the Forest Park neighborhood with outside surveillance cameras.
According to court records, Allen was being sought for arrest at the time of his death for violating probation after pleading guilty to delivery of cannabis in 2016.
At 7:46 p.m. March 27, shots were reported in the 1000 block of Magnolia Avenue where police found Jakias Holman behind the wheel of a Chevrolet Trailblazer still running in the street. Paramedics were unable to revive Holman who was pronounced dead at the scene, police said. No one else was in the vehicle with Holman when police arrived, Botzum said.
Police records show Holman was also arrested on charges of delivery of cannabis charges in 2016 – one block from where Allen was later killed.
Holman, who was also charged with unlawful use of a weapon, pleaded guilty to possession of a controlled substance later that year and was released on probation after spending six months in the Will County jail.
Botzum said last week detectives had not established if the slayings are connected.
Anyone with information on either case is asked to call investigators at (815) 724-3020 or anonymously call CrimeStoppers at (800) 323-6734. CrimeStoppers offers rewards of up to $5,000 for information leading to an arrest.