Insets, left to right: Demon Smith, Javan Moore and Davell Holden (South Holland Police Department). Background: The home in South Holland, Ill., where Davell Holden was waiting for a DoorDash order when Demon Smith and Javan Moore allegedly shot him to death with a third teen suspect (WLS/YouTube).
An Illinois honor student who made a name for himself playing high school basketball was shot and killed in a "sickening" case of mistaken identity, according to local officials.
Cook County prosecutors revealed in court this past weekend how Davell Holden, 16, was standing outside his girlfriend's home in South Holland, a Chicago suburb, waiting on a DoorDash order he had just placed when three suspects, including another teen, allegedly pulled up to the house in a stolen car and gunned him down, local ABC affiliate WLS reports.
Javan Moore, 21, and Demon Smith, 20, carried out the "heinous" crime in early August with a 16-year-old male whose name is being withheld due to his age, according to local officials. The trio was allegedly trying to kill an individual who had lived on the same street in the past and looked like Holden. Moore, who is charged with first-degree murder, is said to have gotten out of the vehicle they were in to shoot Holden; the other suspects accompanied him and are charged with felony murder, according to police.
Photos and texts obtained by police from the teenage suspect's phone showed that he tried to sell the alleged murder weapon, per prosecutors. The gun was discovered during a search of the teen's home, according to police.
"Disgustingly, this is a case of mistaken identity," village officials said in a Sunday press release. "The victim, Davell Holden, happened to be visiting his girlfriend, who lived on the same street as where the actual intended target recently lived, and he closely resembled him in appearance. Now, an innocent and promising young man is gone."
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The arrests of the alleged shooters were announced at a press conference held Monday, during which the mayor and police chief both spoke highly of Holden, who was known locally for his play on the basketball court and excellence in school.
"Davell, at only 16-years-old, was an outstanding young man," said South Holland Mayor Don De Graff. South Holland Police Chief Shawn Staples said, "He was an honor student. He was a member of his basketball team for our local high school. He was a great individual. So, when this crime took place, it hit home for everyone. Not just our residents, but for our police department and our police officers."
Prosecutors say the suspects are members of a local gang known as 9 Block. The attack they were allegedly carrying out was supposed to be aimed at a rival of theirs.
"This was a tragic and sickening incident," De Graff concluded. "[Holden] was an innocent victim … which really hurts."
Village Administrator J. Wynsma added, "South Holland is a Community of Faith, Family, and Future. This type of heinous crime will never be tolerated here."
Holden's mother, Angela Birts, told reporters at Monday's press conference that "this is not the way my son deserved to die." She told local CBS affiliate WBBM back in August, "I just remember screaming, yelling, praying in the car on the way there. Like, Lord, please help my baby."
The suspects were ordered held without bond over the weekend and are due back in court Tuesday, according to reports.
