(PEORIA, IL) Thursday, January 26, 2023, members of the Peoria Police Department’s Special Investigations Division (SID) were conducting an investigation into the whereabouts of a murder suspect. (Case #22-20917)
During the course of the investigation, officers observed a vehicle with three occupants inside including the murder suspect.
At
approximately 8:00 p.m. officers pulled the vehicle over in the 1200 block of E. McClure. A felony stop was conducted on the vehicle after the occupants attempted to flee the stop. Police removed all three occupants from the vehicle including the murder suspect who was a juvenile at the time of the murder.
During a search of the vehicle officers located and seized a stolen handgun (22-15939) inside the vehicle. A second handgun was located on the person of the juvenile front seat passenger.
All of the occupants were transported to the Peoria Police Department for interviewing purposes and subsequently arrested.
The 18-year-old murder suspect was arrested for First Degree Murder, Aggravated Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Possession of a Firearm without a Valid FOID Card, Unlawful Possession of a Handgun Under 21. He was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
The driver of the vehicle, identified as 19-year-old Breon K. Smith, was arrested for Aggravated Reckless Driving, Criminal Damage to Government Property, Fleeing/Eluding Police, Obstructing an Officer, and Traffic Violations. Smith was transported to the Peoria County Jail.
The juvenile passenger was arrested for Unlawful Use of a Weapon, Possession of a Handgun without a FOID Card and Possession of a Handgun Under 21. He was transported to the Peoria County Juvenile Detention Center.
This incident remains under investigation.
If you have any information regarding this incident or any violent crimes, please contact the Peoria Police Department at (309) 673-4521, tip411 (anonymously), or Crime Stoppers (anonymously) at (309) 673-9000.
**All suspects and arrestees are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law. **