Police: One Plainfield murder suspect arrested, others still at large

Police still are seeking to arrest other suspects in the investigation of a fatal shooting in Plainfield last year after they’ve apprehended one suspect on charges of first-degree murder.

Plainfield police have arrested Damarion Woods, 18, of Plainfield, on a charge alleging that he and other unnamed defendants shot and killed Anthony Saucedo, 19, on June 15, 2022, in the parking lot of the Prairie Activity and Recreation Center in Plainfield.

The original criminal complaint against Woods has been sealed, but a publicly viewable, amended complaint was filed Thursday. Woods was named in that complaint, which had redacted names of other defendants facing the same first-degree murder charges as him.

Plainfield Police Department Cmdr. Kevin McQuaid declined to provide further details about the Woods case, saying there are “multiple individuals that are being charged in this investigation, but not all have been arrested as of yet.”

Judge Dave Carlson signed a $5 million bond for Woods, who was 17 at the time of Saucedo’s death.

Last year, Will County prosecutors filed a forfeiture complaint for a Toyota Camry that they alleged was used in the fatal shooting of Saucedo. Woods was not named in the court filing.

Prosecutors said that the police believed the vehicle had been driven by the owner’s son at the time of the incident.

According to the forfeiture complaint, at 9:55 p.m. June 15, 2022, an officer was sent to the Prairie Activity and Recreation Center for a report of two vehicles “shooting at each other” in the parking lot.

A 911 caller said a red vehicle took off from the parking lot and the other vehicle still was in the lot with a door wide open, the forfeiture complaint said.

The caller reported hearing six to 10 gunshots go off and observing a “bunch of kids” running toward the red vehicle, the forfeiture complaint said.

Three officers arrived at the scene, and one of them found Saucedo unconscious with no pulse sitting in a black Jeep Grand Cherokee with blood coming from his mouth, a massive amount of blood on him and a gunshot wound to the neck, according to the forfeiture complaint. The engine still was running, and the front seat passenger door was open.

The officer saw several spent shell casings on the ground near the front of the Jeep, spent casings in the front and rear of the vehicle, and a firearm magazine on Saucedo’s lap, according to the forfeiture complaint.

An attorney for the vehicle’s owner filed a response that denies the vehicle was used to commit the crime. On June 14, a judge granted prosecutors’ request for forfeiture of the vehicle.