Daily Egyptian TUESDAY, APRIL 5, 2016
DAILYEGYPTIAN.COM
SINCE 1916
VOL. 100 ISSUE 72
Third suspect Performing with Pride in custody in Easter shooting BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
Two of the suspects arrested in connection to a Carbondale shooting that killed one and put another in the hospital appeared in court for the first time Monday. Co-defendants Travis Tyler, 21, of Hazelwood, Mo., and John Ingram, 21, of Webster Groves, Mo., were informed of the $1 million bond amount set by Judge Kimberly Dahlen for felony charges of aggravated assault with a firearm and aggravated discharge of a firearm. A preliminary hearing was scheduled for 9 a.m. April 21 in Jackson County court. Both men are charged with one class X felony, which is a nonprobationable offense that carries a mandatory minimum sentence of six years in prison. The second count, a class four felony, carries a potential four to 15 years and would be served consecutively. Dahlen conferred with the state’s attorney to clarify the charges, noting Tyler and Ingram are facing a maximum 45-year imprisonment if convicted for both counts. “Can I have a bond reduction, your honor?” Tyler asked the judge after he was notified of the bond decision. Dahlen informed Tyler he is within his rights to file a motion with the assistance of his defense attorney. Both Southeast Missouri State University students surrendered to authorities at the Jackson County Jail within the past week for the Easter shooting. Police responded to reports of shots fired about 2 a.m. March 27 in the 400 block of West Walnut Street. Upon arrival, Carbondale police said a large crowd of people were leaving the party there. Investigating officers learned an altercation between two men at the party led to the shooting. Shots were fired inside and outside the house, police said. Tim Beaty, 41, was killed by a stray bullet in his home next door, police
said during a press conference March 28. A second victim, Nehemiah Greenlee, was taken to Carbondale Memorial Hospital for a non-life threatening injury and later transferred to a St. Louis-area hospital where he was treated, police said. The charges against Tyler and Ingram are related to injuries sustained by Greenlee, and the investigation into Beaty’s death is ongoing, said Michael Carr, Jackson County state’s attorney, in a statement last week. No charges had been filed in relation to the homicide as of Monday. SEMO student Dwayne Dunn Jr., 21, of St. Louis, was the first suspect arrested and charged with reckless discharge of a firearm. His bond was set at $500,000 by Judge Dahlen on March 29 and his preliminary hearing is also scheduled for April 21. The three SEMO students were placed on interim suspension and are not allowed on university premises pending the completion of a criminal investigation, according to a SEMO news release. All but one of the suspects named by police had been apprehended as of Monday afternoon. Daniel Holmes, 21, of Carbondale, is a fourth suspect wanted in connection with the case and remains at large, according to police. A nationwide arrest warrant was issued with a $750,000 bond, according to the state’s attorney’s office. Holmes is also wanted in connection with a shooting at Evolve Apartments at SIU on March 29. He should be considered armed and dangerous, police said. The investigation of these incidents are ongoing, police said. Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Carbondale Police Department at 618-457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at 618-549-COPS (2677). Bill Lukitsch can be reached at blukitsch@dailyegyptian.com or 618-536-3329.
Morgan Timms | @Morgan_Timms LaTricia Pettis-White, of Murphysboro, watches from the front as the Beautiful Ones perform a dance routine Thursday for the community at Prairie Living in Chautauqua in Carbondale. Pettis-White began the dance group in 2009 and since then between 50 and 60 children have participated. Pettis-White said her favorite part of being the Beautiful Ones’ creative director is watching the girls perform together as a team. “When they perform, everyone’s in sync,” Pettis-White said. “The little kids are doing exactly what the big kids are doing and the big kids are doing exactly what I told them to do. … Just seeing them do it together is the ultimate.”
Marine booted from SIU for discharging handgun BILL LUKITSCH | @Bill_LukitschDE
An SIU student was forced out of the university and banned from campus for actions he says were in self-defense. John McGrath, a 26-year-old junior from Quincy, is a decorated combat veteran who served in the Marines before coming to SIU for his bachelor’s degree. He received honors for a campaign in Afghanistan and service in the global war on terrorism since he enlisted in 2010. The plan was to get a degree in accounting and minor in aviation, McGrath said. But all of that came to a halt following a shooting incident that took place in front of
Saluki Apartments two months ago. “I lost everything,” McGrath said. Police responded to multiple reports of shots fired about 8:45 p.m. Feb. 2 in the 400 block of South Wall Street. McGrath was arrested on multiple charges along with Michael Wooley, 33, of Carbondale. No one was injured in the incident. It all started in his apartment, McGrath said, when Wooley came by to sell some marijuana. McGrath’s personal firearm, a Smith and Wesson .38 with a clip on the right side that attaches to his belt, was probably sitting on the couch when he left Wooley alone in his living room for about five minutes, he said. They set out on foot together
so McGrath could get cash and cigarettes, he said, and the two were walking back from Circle K gas station at 511 E. Walnut St. when he saw the gun in Wooley’s back pocket. “I immediately went for my firearm,” McGrath said. “The first initial fear for my life came in when both of our hands were on my gun.” Both men gripped the gun and started fighting, McGrath said, during which McGrath obtained it. He would later tell police he fired three shots in the air to alert them of what was happening. The police report from that evening shows McGrath and Wooley surrendered willfully and peacefully. Please see MARINE | 3
Students react to possibly paying back MAP grant CORY RAY | @CoryRay_DE
Joshua Bowens works more than 60 hours a week — sometimes only getting a few hours of sleep between classes — and if he has to pay back his MAP grant money, he may have to take on more. Bowens could be another victim of the state budget impasse that has denied the university an appropriation. This academic year SIUC fronted
Monetary Award Program Grants for 4,766 students on campus. At its meeting on March 24, the SIU Board of Trustees discussed the possibility of asking students for the money back. Bowens, a low-income sophomore from Chicago studying political science, works three jobs to help pay for school. He’s an orientation leader for the university and also works at Rue 21 and a hotel. He said the fronted grant helped
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him to stay at the university by paying for what his job couldn’t. Now, he doesn’t know what to do. “There’s a lot of questions,” Bowens said. “We’re just all waiting.” Students at the Illinois Institute of Technology also received fronted grants this academic year and are now being asked to give back that money. SIU President Randy Dunn said many universities in the state are deciding on this matter, but he is
asking the SIU board to hold off on a decision until two or three more months down the road. Dunn said he wants to see what the situation with the state budget will be in the next few months before rushing into a final ruling, which would likely be at a special board meeting. Because Dunn and others believed Illinois’ budget impasse would be a short-term problem this past summer, they decided to front the grants.
“As we sit here practically a year later, the cash position of the university is so much more dire,” Dunn said. Public universities have not received any state money since July 1. Dunn said the rumor is Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner and the Democratic-led Legislature might not pass a budget as it heads into the final quarter of the fiscal year. Thus, the university would have no reimbursement of the fronted money. Please see MAP | 3