DeKalb man ID'd as victim in fatal shooting near CherryVale Mall

CHERRY VALLEY – The Winnebago County Coroner’s Office has confirmed that the man shot and killed Friday afternoon outside CherryVale Mall was Ricky Smith, 31, of DeKalb.

Police responded about 4 p.m. Friday to a report of gunshots and found Smith, of the 6200 block of Route 38, dead in an SUV near the Schnucks at 2206 Barnes Blvd. The rear window of the SUV was shattered, and police said they still are seeking a description of the suspect.

An autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday morning.

In August 2014, a Ricky D. Smith, then 27, was arrested in a drug sting in DeKalb and charged with unlawful delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a school. Smith was sentenced in September 2015 to four and a half years in prison.

The coroner’s office could not provide a middle initial for the man killed Friday.

Anyone with information on Friday’s shooting should call the Winnebago County Sheriff’s Office at 815-319-6000, or Rockford Area Crime Stoppers at 815-963-7867.