52-Year Sentence For Man Convicted Of Murder Over Argument At Bar

WAUKEGAN, IL — The man found guilty of murdering a 29-year-old North Chicago man last year was sentenced to 52 years in prison this week. The killing was triggered by an argument in a bar that led to the passenger in one car opening fire and fatally shooting the passenger in another car after closing, authorities said.

Andre Jones, 35, was convicted in March of the first-degree murder of Melvin DeVost II following a jury trial. At a sentencing hearing Monday, Lake County Circuit Judge Patricia Fix sentenced Jones to 52 years in state prison, minus credit for the more than 15 months he has been behind bars since his arrest

According to prosecutors and police, Jones and DeVost had been involved in some kind of dispute in the early morning hours of March 5, 2018, at a bar in the 2200 block of Green Bay Road. DeVost had left the bar and gotten into a car as a passenger, when Jones began shooting from a chasing vehicle. The driver tried to drive DeVost to a nearby hospital but the car broke down on the way, authorities said.

At trial, Jones' defense attorney argued his half-brother, the driver of the car and a key prosecution witness, was lying to save himself. The half-brother testified that he was "in shock" when Jones, who he said had earlier asked him for a gun, began firing out of the window of the moving car, the Lake County News-Sun reported.

Prosecutors requested a 53-year prison sentence at Monday's sentencing hearing. They argued Jones had been either in prison, on probation or facing criminal charges for all but eight months of his adult life, according to the News-Sun. DeVost's family members said his "senseless death" had left a void that could not be filled.

Jones previously served prison time for convictions on charges related to gun possession and selling cocaine. Then in 2006, he was arrested on attempted murder charges, later pleading guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm. He was sentenced to 18 years and served more than eight years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for that offense.

Jones faced a maximum sentence of 60 years in prison for the murder. Sentences for first-degree murder convictions must be served in their entirety, so he will be at least 85 years old before he is eligible for release.

Earlier:

• Waukegan Man Guilty Of Murder After Bar Fight In 2018
• Felon Faces Murder Charges For Fatal Shooting Following Bar Fight