Death of Teen Shot in the Back by Zion Police Ruled a Homicide by Lake County Coroner

The death of a teen-ager shot in the back by a Zion police officer earlier this month was ruled a homicide on Tuesday, according to a report issued by the Lake County coroner.

Justus “Lil Meachi” Howell, of Waukegan, a 17-year-old who loved to rap, had smoked marijuana a few hours before his death on April 4, according to the autopsy, and also had a small amount of alcohol in his bloodstream. His blood alcohol level was 0.035.

“The question that remains is whether this is a justifiable homicide,” Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim said Tuesday. “This determination hinges on a complete evaluation of the facts and circumstances surrounding the incident.”

The investigation continues to unfold. Conceivably, an officer of the law could be justified in shooting someone in the back, according to a 1985 Supreme Court ruling, if the person “poses a significant threat of death or serious physical injury to the officer or others.”

Howell was running from police at about 2 p.m. that day when he was shot twice in the back. One bullet pierced his spleen, liver and heart, according to the autopsy. The other struck Howell in the shoulder.

Police said a handgun was recovered near his body. Police said Howell was buying a gun illegally from a man named Tramond Peet, 18, of Lindenhurst. Peet faces two felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. Peet told investigators that Howell tried to steal the gun from him, according to police, and as the two fought the gun fired into the ground. That’s when police pulled up, Peet gave up and Howell ran.

“We heard pow! pow!” neighbor Bobbie Vaughn, who was on the street, told Fusion.net. “We heard the two shots. Then the officer kind of looked back at me like, ‘damn.’ That’s the expression he had on his face. He took off running, and I took off running behind him.”

Police began CPR on Howell immediately after shooting him, according to witnesses. Vaughn said she was told to move away from the body.

The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that sources say Howard was not armed when he was shot in the street. Vaughn said she did not see a gun by the body.

Under the watch of the FBI Chicago Civil Rights Division, the Lake County Major Crime Task Force and the state’s attorney are investigating Howell’s death.

“The Lake County Major Crime Task Force is committed to conducting a thorough, comprehensive, external investigation by gathering all the facts that will be forwarded to the Lake County state’s attorney’s office for review,” Cmdr. George Filenko said in a recent news release.

The investigation could conclude within the next week.

Video collected in the Justus Howell investigation from a police car and nearby surveillance cameras has been sent to an independent lab for enhancement, and the State Crime Lab is analyzing evidence.

The police officer who shot Howell is a nine-year veteran of the Zion police force. He’s been placed on paid leave.

Howell’s death has prompted protests in Zion. Unlike recent demonstrations in other states following the deaths of black men at the hands of police officers, the protests in Lake County have been peaceful.

“We are going to be non-violent, because we want results,” the slain man’s uncle, Derell Howell, said during a large protest march the day after his nephew’s funeral.

At a Zion city council meeting a week ago, a standing-room only assembly of protesters and community members told elected officials they want all police officers to wear body cameras. Several council members agreed, including outgoing mayor Lane Harrison and newly elected mayor Al Hill, who takes office in this town of 24,000 residents on May 5.

“Everybody — everybody — needs to wait until the investigation is completed before we know exactly what happened,” Hill told the Chicago Tribune in an interview on April 11. “There’s a lot of rumors and there are a lot of people saying this happened or that happened. I don’t know what happened. The investigation isn’t complete.”

Still, Howell’s family believes the circumstances of his demise are very similar to other recent police-related killings, such as the death of Walter Scott, who was shot in the back by a South Carolina police officer on the same day Howell was killed.

“There is no difference between the murder in South Carolina and the murder of my grandson,” Alice Howell told the Tribune. “I am anxiously waiting for the conclusion of the investigation.”