DeKalb man charged in Oct. 2021 shooting death pleads not guilty to new 2022 charges

DEKALB - A DeKalb man accused in the October shooting death of a 21-year-old pleaded not guilty in court this week to new charges stemming from a February 2022 incident involving mob action and battery.

Deanphony Broadnax Merchant, 22, of the 800 block of Ridge Drive in DeKalb, is charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 3 shooting death of Caeleb Dunlap-Milam. The 21-year-old DeKalb resident died from a gunshot wound to the head days after the Oct. 6 shooting. Prosecutors said they believe Merchant pulled the trigger. He’s also charged with mob action, a Class 4 felony, and misdemeanor battery in an unrelated incident from earlier this year.

Broadnax Merchant appeared virtually before DeKalb County Judge Marcy Buick on Thursday for a status hearing on his murder charges and for an indictment on his 2022 charges from a Feb. 20 incident.

He’s been held since his October arrest after the shooting at DeKalb County Jail on a $5 million bond.

He was represented this week by Chicago-based attorney Stephen L. Richards.

“My client pleads not guilty,” Richards said on behalf of Broadnax Merchant’s newest 2022 charges.

Broadnax Merchant was arraigned in December on his murder charges.

Prosecutors have said that video footage shows Dunlap-Milam and Broadnax Merchant leaving a party with several others on Ridge Drive before the fatal incident.

DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd previously said a semi-automatic pistol was used in the shooting. Assistant State’s Attorney Suzanne Collins previously said Dunlap-Milam was shot in the head, and police found him lying on the sidewalk about 5:20 a.m. that October morning. He was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in DeKalb and later transferred to OSF Saint Anthony in Rockford, where he died.

DeKalb police eventually tracked Merchant to Madison, Wisconsin, where he was arrested.

Broadnax Merchant is set to appear for a pre-trial hearing on both of his cases at 2:30 p.m. June 16.