Joliet murder trial begins

JOLIET – The killer returned to the scene of the crime, prosecutors said.

Less than 24 hours after Timothy Egner was found Aug. 1, 2012, shot to death outside the Wendy’s at 104 N. Center St. in Joliet, police encountered Daeviontae D. Pruitte standing in the middle of that block, officer T.J. Gruber testified Monday.

According to Gruber, Pruitte ran when the officer got out of his car and “tossed a handgun to the ground” before Gruber caught him in the 400 block of Campbell Street.

Lab tests later showed the gray Taurus .380 semi-automatic was one of the guns allegedly used to kill Egner. Pruitte, 21, was charged with murder and began a bench trial Monday before Judge Carla Alessio Policandriotes.

Egner, 54, had come from his job as a security guard at a casino in Aurora to pick up Dominique Woods, a family friend who was getting off work about 2:30 a.m. Woods said she saw Egner’s green Acura park near the east side doors about 20 minutes earlier, but did not notice anything suspicious until she got in the car.

“I noticed he was laid back ... and his eyes were closed. I thought he was asleep. I was going to wake him up so I could drive home, but I checked his pulse,” Woods said. “The police showed up and took me out [of the car]. I told them ‘I think he had a heart attack.’ ”

Egner had bullets in his torso and aorta, evidence technician Eric Stanley testified. An anonymous passer-by had called 911 to say he’d been farther down the block and saw a “couple guys just shooting the guys [sic] inside the car,” according to a recording played in court.

Shell casings of .380 and .45-caliber were found in the Wendy’s parking lot. The $61 Egner had in his wallet was not touched, prosecutors said.

Shemica Webb, who lived near Wendy’s at the time, testified she heard the shots and saw a man running to a four-door car parked down the block.

“He was holding a gun in his left hand and holding his pants up with his right hand as he ran,” Webb said.

Two days later, Webb identified the vehicle as a silver Buick LeSabre, according to authorities.

Will County Sheriff’s Deputy Brandon Bailey said he stopped a silver LeSabre occupied by Pruitte and two other men near Cass and Collins streets about a half-hour after Egner was slain. Bailey testified Pruitte and the driver were cooperative and their backseat passenger appeared intoxicated.

The deputy said he patted down the three men before searching the Buick, but did not find any weapons. When arrested by Gruber, Pruitte allegedly said he’d just found the gun on Cagwin Avenue.

“Even if [prosecutors] can establish [the gun Pruitte was caught with] is one of the guns used to kill Mr. Egner, there’s a gap to when our client came into possession of it,” Assistant Public Defender Jason Strzelecki said.

The trial is scheduled to continue Tuesday.