Bond again denied for Montgomery man charged with murder in 2020 DeKalb gas station shooting

SYCAMORE - A DeKalb County judge this week again denied bond for a Montgomery man who faces first-degree murder charges in the shooting death of 29-year-old Chrishun Keeler-Tyus who was gunned down in front of his children at a gas station last year.

Esaiah M. Escamilla, of the first block of Circle Court in Montgomery, is charged with 19 criminal counts, including first-degree murder, in the incident which led to Chrishun Keeler-Tyus’s death, after he was shot following a verbal argument with a husband and wife duo at a FasMart on Fourth Street on July 4, 2020.

Police said Keeler-Tyus’s young children were in the car at the time he was shot.

Sycamore-based attorney Brian Erwin represented Escamilla in the bond hearing Tuesday. DeKalb County Circuit Court Judge Phillip Montgomery ruled in the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office’s favor, that bond be denied for Escamilla while he awaits court proceedings on the charges. Escamilla is being held at DeKalb County Jail, where he was also recently charged with misdemeanor battery after an unrelated fight with another inmate earlier this month.

According to DeKalb County court records, Erwin filed a motion for discovery in the case, requesting that records such as police reports, video or audio surveillance of the incident be turned over to him from the state’s attorney’s office.

“We are still in the early stages of getting discovery, and from there we will look at any motions we have to file,” Erwin said. “But it’s just been at a very early stages. We haven’t gone through discovery yet.”

Escamilla is facing charges of: first degree murder, a Class M felony; attempted first degree murder, a Class X felony; aggravated battery, a Class X felony; criminal damage to property, a Class 4 felony; unlawful possession of a weapon by a felony, a Class 3 felony; aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony; mob action, a Class 4 felony; and armed violence, a Class X felony.

If convicted of the most serious crime, first degree murder, Escamilla faces life imprisonment.

Escamilla is the fifth arrest in connection to the 2020 shooting and the fourth person to be charged with murder.

Police say the shooting happened around 2 p.m. July 4, 2020 when Katrina L. Edwards, of DeKalb, got into an argument with Keeler-Tyus at the gas pump, called her husband, Jimmy Edwards, of DeKalb, who then called several other family members. Those who responded allegedly included Jimmy’s brother, Emanuel Edwards, of DeKalb, and Escamilla, who arrived at the gas station and shot Keeler-Tyus and his girlfriend.

Jimmy, Katrina and Emmanuel Edwards are all charged with first-degree murder also. Husband and wife Jimmy and Katrina Edwards are expected to stand a 28-juror joint trial together in January. According to court records, the trial date is set for 1:30 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2022.

Jimmy Edwards is being held on a $1 million bond at the DeKalb County Jail, Katrina Edwards is being held on a $750,000 bond. Emanuel Edwards, is being held on no bond at the DeKalb County Jail.

Escamilla is next set to appear for a status hearing on the charges Dec. 11 at 11 a.m.