Chicago teen charged as adult with fatal shooting in Romeoville

A 16-year-old is being charged as an adult with the first-degree murder of a 19-year-old and the shooting of another teen in Romeoville.

The case against Tavaris Blakemore, 16, of Chicago, was unsealed on Friday by Will County Judge Dave Carlson, who signed a warrant for Blakemore’s arrest that carried a $5 million bond.

Blakemore, who will turn 17 in October, is incarcerated at River Valley Juvenile Detention Center in Joliet.

Blakemore faces three counts of first-degree murder of Darrick Dillon, 19, of Chicago, and aggravated battery of a 16-year-old teen from Chicago who was wounded in the June 23 shooting.

The shooting took place at Scene75 Entertainment Center, 460 S. Weber Road, Romeoville.

When officers arrived at the scene, they found two gunshot victims, according to a statement from the Romeoville Police Department.

“Following a verbal dispute, several shots were fired by one individual. The offender fled and left the scene in a vehicle,” police said.

Dillon died from a gunshot wound, police said. The other 16-year-old victim was taken to a hospital in stable condition.

Blakemore was identified as the suspect in the shooting. He was found in Chicago by members of the U.S. Marshal’s Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, police said.

The Chicago Police Department also provided assistance in the case.