The Belleville man shot another person in the back and stole his marijuana, prosecutors say

Surveillance footage shows a Belleville man fatally shot another man in the back while robbing him of marijuana in the parking lot of a Cahokia Heights liquor store, a St. Clair County prosecutor said Monday during a detention hearing.

Shamon Jackson, 20, of North Ninth Street in Belleville, faces a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the death of a 23-year-old Tommie Stevenson of Belleville on July 4, 2022.

Jackson was also charged with armed robbery/armed with a firearm. The charges were filed on October 23, more than two years after the murder.

St. Clair County Assistant State’s Attorney Jason Emmanuel said the shooting was captured on surveillance video from two different angles.

However, Jackson’s attorney, Richard Roustio, said that 14 shell casings were found at the scene and that “we don’t really know who shot Mr. Stevenson.”

“He was shot and responded after being shot,” said Roustio, a Belleville attorney appointed by the St. Clair County Public Defender’s Office to represent Jackson.

St. Clair County Associate Judge Sara L. Rice heard arguments during the hearing and ordered that Jackson be held in the county jail until his trial. Since Illinois ended its cash bail system last year, judges have been charged with holding detention hearings to determine whether someone accused of a serious crime should be released or held.

The shooting happened in the parking lot outside Pop’s Liquor Store at 4607 Bond Ave. in Cahokia Heights.

Police had received a report of a man shot by gunfire on July 4, 2022 at 3:10 p.m. Stevenson was found on the ground in the parking lot of Pop’s Liquor Store. He was taken to Touchette Regional Hospital, where he died, according to BND reporting on the day of the alleged crime.

Dwight L. Smith, 28, of Belleville, was also charged in connection with Stevenson’s death. The first-degree murder charge against him was dismissed in August as part of a plea deal and he was sentenced to 28 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to armed robbery, court records show.

Smith has agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case against Jackson, Emmanuel told Rice.

In ruling against Jackson, Rice noted that there are multiple witnesses in the case, that there is video surveillance of the shooting and that Smith has a cooperation agreement with prosecutors.

According to the Illinois Department of Corrections, Smith has an expected release date of March 13, 2037. If he is released on parole on this date, he would have served approximately twelve and a half years of his 28-year sentence. He is being held at the Western Illinois Correctional Center near Mount Sterling.

Belleville News-Democrat reporter Carolyn P. Smith contributed information for this article.