Man guilty of murder in fatal shooting outside Joliet boxing club

June 29

JOLIET – Will County State’s Attorney James W. Glasgow announces that a jury on Friday found a Lockport Township man guilty of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a man outside a Joliet boxing club in 2011.

Jevon Lesley, 22, faces 45 years to life in prison when he is sentenced by Circuit Judge Sarah Jones on Sept. 16.

Lesley shot Anthony Fearn, 18, of Crest Hill, outside the KO Zone Boxing Club in the 200 block of Cass Street in Joliet on July 9, 2011. Lesley opened fire during a melee between Vice Lord and Gangster Disciple factions that erupted outside the club. Witnesses testified he pulled the trigger at least five times.

Fearn, an innocent bystander who had no connection to any street gang, attended a party at the club earlier in the evening with a friend. A bullet struck Fearn in the left arm and lodged in his chest, nicking both his lung and his trachea. He was shot inside a minivan that he had climbed inside to flee from the gunfire.

“This was a vicious attack by a violent gangbanger who demonstrated a ruthless disregard for the sanctity of human life,” said State’s Attorney Glasgow. “Jevon Lesley gunned down an innocent young man in cold blood outside that boxing club. This conviction takes a callous killer off our streets.”

During the four-day trial, prosecutors John Connor, Tricia McKenna and Ashley Kwasneski secured testimony from five witnesses who identified Lesley, know on the streets as Guru, as the shooter.

The State’s Attorney thanked his trial team for securing an important conviction. He also credited the Joliet Police Department for a topnotch investigation that brought Lesley to justice.