Suspects Arrested In Two C-U Homicides
Champaign Police Lt. of Investigations David Shaffer announces the arrests of suspects in the murders of Hakim Vineyard and Robert Lee Brown at a news conference at Champaign Police Headquarters. Jim Meadows / Illinois Public Media
Two men, each of them suspects in a separate murder case in Champaign-Urbana, were found and arrested at an apartment in Urbana Wednesday. The suspects were wanted in connection with the deaths of Rakim Vineyard in Champaign and Robert Lee Brown in Urbana.
Police who made the arrest were looking for one suspect in particular, 19-year-old Joshu’ah K. Young. The Urbana man was wanted for the July 19, 2014 fatal shooting of 22-year-old Rakim Vineyard, near Douglass Park in the 1000 block of North 6th Street in Champaign.
Authorities say the shooting led to more retaliatory shootings in Champaign-Urbana.
“The death of Mr. Vineyard forced a division within our community”, said Champaign Police Lieutenant of Investigations David Shaffer, “which over the past several years has led to numerous shootings and acts of violence through retaliatory acts, many of them centering around those who were either a friend of Mr. Vineyard, or believed to be responsible for his death.”
Authorities declined to identify which shooting had been in response to the fatal shooting of Vineyard, citing an ongoing investigation.
In 2015, the Vineyard shooting was memorialized with a march through Champaign’s north side, by some 120 people protesting a string of shootings in the city.
But Shaffer says it was not until spring of 2016 that new information was developed that led to the issuing of an arrest warrant for Young in October on 1st Degree murder charges.
When police located Young in a North Lincoln Avenue apartment on Wednesday, they also found 24-year-old Tyrone Franklin. The Urbana man was wanted for the November 26th shooting death of 21-year-old Robert Lee Brown at a house in the 700 block of East University Avenue in Urbana.
Both men were scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon.
U.S. Marshals Service officers conducted the arrest, with help from the multi-jurisdictional Street Crimes Task Force, Champaign and Urbana police detectives and METRO SWAT officers.
Authorities say investigations into both the Vineyard and Brown shootings in ongoing. They ask that anyone with information on the cases to contact Champaign or Urbana police, or Champaign County Crime Stoppers. (2217-373-TIPS).