2nd defendant charged with 2019 murder of Joliet man

A second person has been charged with the fatal shooting of a 26-year-old man about three years ago in Joliet.

On July 6, Will County prosecutors charged Omar Turner Jr., 21, of Joliet, with the first-degree murder of Dimitri Allen, 26, of Joliet, on March 25, 2019. Prosecutors alleged in a criminal complaint that Turner shot Allen with a firearm while committing robbery and residential burglary.

Turner was booked into the Will County Jail on a $5 million bond.

Tatiyana Brown, 22, who has addresses in Lisle and Woodridge, was the first defendant charged in connection with the case on Sept. 24, 2019.

Brown has been in jail since Sept. 25, 2019 on a $1 million bond and her case has not yet resolved. She’s scheduled to appear for a pretrial hearing on Oct. 17.

On Oct. 9, 2019, a grand jury had indicted Brown on charges that also alleged she shot Allen with a firearm while committing robbery and residential burglary. Brown has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Tatiyana Brown, 19, of the 5100 block of Abbey Drive in Lisle was arrested by Joliet police and booked into the Will County Jail Sept. 25, on a charge of murder.

In a Sept. 10, 2020, court hearing, Will County Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Domagalla said that Brown did not actually fire the gun but took part in a robbery of Allen with several other people that turned violent. Domagalla said Brown suffered a gunshot wound to the hand during the incident.

Domagalla said at the time the case was still under investigation and prosecutors were waiting on additional evidence.

During the March 25, 2019, incident, officers responded about noon that day to a report of shots fired in the area of Cutter Avenue and Ada Street in Joliet, according to Joliet police.

Officers found Allen with a gunshot wound to the chest in a yard in the 1100 block of Cutter Avenue.

Allen was taken to Silver Cross Hospital in New Lenox, where he was pronounced dead at 12:41 p.m. the same day, according to the Will County Coroner’s Office. An autopsy revealed Allen died of the single gunshot wound, the office said.

At the time of Brown’s arrest, Joliet Deputy Chief Chris Botzum said the investigation of Allen’s death was still ongoing.