Joliet gang member gets 57 years for killing bystander

JOLIET – A gang member was sentenced Wednesday to 57 years in prison for the stray shot that killed an innocent bystander on a downtown street four years ago.

Jevon D. Lesley, 22, was convicted in June of the July 9, 2011 murder of Anthony Fearn outside the KO Zone Boxing Club, 218 E. Cass St. Lesley faced 45 years to life in prison.

Fearn, 18, had gone to a party at the club with some friends when it was shut down because of confrontations between two rival gangs inside. On the sidewalk outside, Lesley took out a handgun and fired several times into the crowd, according to trial testimony. One shot struck and killed Fearn, who'd been running down Arch Court.

Fearn, a senior at Joliet West High School, who worked part time at Kohl's and was an instructor at SUDA Mixed Martial Arts, had no gang involvement, which investigators believe was a reason witnesses and informants didn't immediately identify Lesley as his killer. Lesley was charged with Fearn's murder 14 months after the shooting while he was already imprisoned on two convictions for unlawful use of a weapon.

"I'm sorry for your loss," Lesley told Fearn's grandfather, Earnest Bush, who attended the sentencing hearing. "I know what it's like to lose somebody in an instant, but I didn't murder [Fearn]."

Lesley’s 14-year-old brother, Deonte, was killed Jan. 3, 2011, when Vernon McCormick sprayed bullets into the window of his Lockport Township home. Will County sheriff’s police said Lesley was McCormick’s target in the shooting, which also injured two others. McCormick was sentenced to 85 years in prison the day after Lesley was charged with Fearn’s murder.

Bush said after the sentencing he "felt for [Lesley's] family."

"They have losses and I have losses. I just pray we can begin to move forward now," Bush said.