Murder charges filed against Joliet man in connection with April killing

A Joliet man facing an unlawful use of a weapon by a felon case in Grundy County was charged with murder in connection with the killing of a man who was shot to death in April.

Dartavius Payton, 24, who was free on $50,000 bond in his Grundy. County case, was jailed in Will County Sunday afternoon on charges of murder and possession of a weapon by a felon.

Payton appeared in Will County court Monday and his bond was set at $2.5 million. He was represented by attorney Paul Napolski.

Payton was arrested May 1 in Diamond, Joliet police said at the time.

Payton was among a group of fugitives involved in a high speed chase following a killing on Joliet's East Side, police said.

Four men were arrested shortly after the police pursuit, including two on the same stretch of East Stellon Street where Payton was later nabbed. All four later were released without charge.

Those four were riding in a Cadillac SUV officers chased from Joliet to Diamond after they heard gunshots about 9 p.m. April 28 near Fifth Avenue and Sherman Street, officials said.

After hearing the gunshots, officers found the body of 20-year-old Todd Taylor in a driveway on Grant Avenue between Mississippi Avenue and Sherman Street, police said.