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Sikeston man found guilty of first-degree murder in Illinois
MURPHYSBORO, Ill. — A jury found a Sikeston, Missouri, guilty of first-degree murder Monday, Oct. 23 in Jackson County, Illinois.
Tyren Jawan Johnson, 25, of Sikeston was found guilty of the 2019 shooting death of another man in Carbondale, Illinois, according to Jackson County State Attorney Joseph A. Cervantez.
In a jury trial lasting more than a week in Jackson County, Cervantez said he presented evidence to a crowded courtroom that on Nov. 3, 2019, Carbondale police were dispatched to the 500 block of South Illinois Avenue for a complaint of shots fired. Keon Cooper was transported by ambulance to Memorial Hospital of Carbondale where he was pronounced dead from multiple gunshot wounds. In just hours, Cervantez said investigators with the Carbondale Police Department identified the shooters as then 21-year-old Johnson and then 24-year-old Olando Sheron, both of Sikeston.
The Carbondale Police Department obtained arrest warrants for both Johnson and Sheron. On Nov. 7, 2019, Johnson was arrested on an Illinois warrant by the Sikeston Department of Public Safety.
Sheron evaded law enforcement for nearly two years, until he was arrested after a dangerous car chase in Gardena, California, charged, and found guilty of first-degree murder on Dec. 9, 2022, by a Jackson County jury.
Cervantez led the prosecution of Johnson and after securing a guilty verdict on Monday, Cervantez explained that Johnson faces a sentence between 45 years and natural life in the Illinois Department of Corrections for the murder of Cooper. Cervantez said the presence of local law enforcement during this trial shows the dedication they have in keeping our community safe.
The investigation was led by the Carbondale Police Department and assisted by the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office, Southern Illinois University Department of Public Safety, Sikeston DPS and the U.S. Marshal’s Service among others.
Cervantez said a case of this magnitude can only be accomplished by an “all hands-on deck” approach.
“The dedicated staff of the Jackson County State Attorney’s Office all played an important role in seeking justice,” Cervantez said.