Dezuan Turner-Owens Denied Pretrial Release After Kankakee Shooting

A 28-year-old Bourbonnais man is being held at the Jerome Combs Detention Center after a judge denied his pretrial release Wednesday. Dezuan S. Turner-Owens faces charges of attempted murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, and two counts of possession of a weapon by a felon, according to Kankakee County State's Attorney Jim Rowe.

Kankakee police arrested Turner-Owens on Monday in connection with the shooting of a 39-year-old Kankakee man. The victim told authorities he was walking along East Court Street when a man he identified as Turner-Owens pulled up beside him in a car and confronted him over comments made online. Rowe said Turner-Owens threatened the victim before opening fire.

Victim and witness statements, ShotSpotter alerts, and local RingCamera footage corroborated accounts that Turner-Owens used a weapon with fully automatic firing capabilities, Rowe said. A police report noted preliminary indications that gunfire was exchanged between an occupant in a car and a man on foot, though Rowe's account does not mention the victim returning fire. Officers recovered a firearm and bullets near the scene and located the vehicle believed to be involved.

The victim suffered gunshot wounds to his left hand and back, with one round narrowly missing his spine, according to Rowe. He was transported to Riverside Medical Center, where he spoke with officers about the confrontation. The victim said the dispute began with Facebook comments he posted about Turner-Owens' upcoming battery case, after which Turner-Owens repeatedly sent threatening messages online.

Turner-Owens was on pretrial release in that battery case, court records show. Court documents also list pending charges of criminal damage to property and domestic battery from an earlier case. His arraignment on the new charges is continued to Nov. 17.

Officers responding to the scene recovered a firearm and bullets and located the vehicle believed involved in the shooting.