Chicago Heights Man Charged in January Murder

Chicago Heights police charged Bryan Wells, 24, of the 1300 block of Center Street with murder in the shooting death of Jerel Bell, whose body was found in a snow bank Jan. 14.

Police told the Southtown Star Wells thought Bell had connected his cousin, Oshay Wells, to the June 11 murder of reported drug dealer Julian Allen, which supposedly led to Oshay being killed more than a month later.

Police explained the circumstances of Jerel's death to reporter Casey Toner:

After Allen’s murder, Bell contacted Allen’s family and told them Oshay Wells had something to do with it, police said.

“Jerel was in the area when the shooting occurred,” Detective Mikal Elamin said. “He made a phone call to the other side, letting them know what happened, so (Bryan Wells) faulted him for Oshay’s death.”

Police said Bryan Wells was driving a PT cruiser with Bell and two other people on Jan. 14 and Wells stopped the car in the 1900 block of Wentworth Avenue, an empty stretch of road, and asked Bell to exit the vehicle and help him find his cell phone.

When Bell stepped out of the car, Wells shot him with a 9 mm pistol, police said, and a motorist found Bell’s body face up in a snowbank the next day and called police.

The Bell family's woes started in December when Jerel's brother, Jeffery Bell, was charged with murder in the shooting death of Heights resident Marquetta Campbell.

Then Jerel's murder in January was followed by the murder of his cousin, Derrick Bell, Feb. 25. Derrick's death was unrelated to Jerel's and was the result of an argument over a stolen TV, according to police and family members.