Felon Faces Murder Charges For Fatal Shooting Following Bar Fight

NORTH CHICAGO, IL — A Waukegan man is accused of murdering a man as he was driving away following an argument at a bar last Sunday night. Investigators believe the two men exchanged words at Frank's Lounge, a bar in the 2200 block of Green Bay Road in North Chicago, before the fatal shooting took place around 12:51 a.m. As North Chicago cops headed there, Waukegan police and fire department personnel got a call of a person shot near South Lewis Avenue and Catalpa Street and headed to the scene.

Investigators believe Andre G. Jones, 34, shot and killed Melvin Devost II, 29, of North Chicago, the passenger in a departing vehicle, according to Sgt. Chris Covelli, spokesman for the Lake County Major Crimes Task Force.

The driver had tried to rush DeVost to a hospital but the car broke down about three and a half miles away on Lewis Avenue. Waukegan fire and rescue crews took DeVost to Vista Medical Center East, where he was pronounced dead around 2 a.m. Preliminary autopsy results show DeVost died from a gunshot wound, according to Lake County Coroner Howard Cooper.

Jones, of the 1700 block of Longview Road, was arrested March 7 and has been charged with two counts of first degree murder. He was identified and apprehended based on witness statements and evidence linking him to the murder, according to Covelli.

Correctional records show Jones completed a lengthy prison sentence less than six months ago. It was his third sentence in Illinois, according to court and prison records.

Jones pleaded guilty to aggravated unlawful use of a weapon in 2003 following an arrest in Waukegan and was sentenced to 18 months in prison, according to Lake County court records. He served about three months at maximum security Statesville Correctional Center before being paroled.

Following a 2004 arrest in Antioch, he pleaded guilty to charges relating to dealing cocaine and was sentenced to six years in prison, according to court and Illinois Department of Corrections records. He served less than six months before being released on parole in March 2006.

Later in 2006, he was charged with four counts of attempted murder, eight counts of armed violence, six counts of aggravated battery with a firearm and one count of armed habitual criminal, according to court records. He pleaded guilty to three counts of aggravated battery and was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2007.

He served more than eight years at Statesville that time. In September 2015, he was released on parole and he completed his sentence Sept. 20, 2017, according to prison records.

Jones is being held at Lake County Jail in lieu of posting $300,000 as a cash portion of his bond. His next court date has been set for April 4.

Anyone with more information about the incident was encouraged to call Lake County CrimeStoppers at 847-662-2222.