Ex-Con Gets 57 Years For Gunning Down Teen in 2011

An ex-convict got 57 years in prison for gunning down a teen in 2011.

Jevon “Guru” Lesley was found guilty of the murder in June.

Lesley, 22, killed 18-year-old Anthony Fearn outside the KO Zone Boxing Club on Cass Street in July 2011. Lesley pulled out a gun and fired wildly during a gang melee that had erupted outside the club. Witnesses testified he pulled the trigger at least five times.

“Jevon Lesley demonstrated a ruthless disregard for the sanctity of human life when he opened fire and gunned down an innocent young man outside the crowded boxing club on that summer night,” Will County State’s Attorney Glasgow said in a statement released by his office.

“The prison sentence secured by my prosecutors removes this dangerous killer from our community,” Glasgow said.

Fearn was a Joliet West student who worked part time at Kohl’s and as an instructor at SUDA Mixed Martial Arts Academy.

Lesley was 18 at the time of the killing. He was charged with Fearn’s murder the following September. He was in prison at the time for unrelated crimes.

Lesley’s younger brother, 14-year-old Deont’e Lesley, was shot to death in January 2011. Deont’e Lesley was playing video games at home when the house was shot up by 27-year-old Vernon McCormick. Two other youths were wounded in the gun attack.

McCormick was out to avenge the slaying of a friend when he sprayed the Lesleys’ house with bullets. Deont’e Lesley, a junior high school student, was not involved in the earlier murder or McCormick’s gang feud.

McCormick was sentenced to 85 years in prison.