Teen in Custody For 2014 Killing Turns 18, Gets Sent to Grownup Jail

JOLIET, IL — A local youth in custody at the juvenile jail for a 2014 murder was transferred to the Will County Adult Detention Facility on his 18th birthday Sunday.

Demond Fuqua allegedly gunned down a 21-year-old man and shot a 14-year-old in the foot during a drive-by gun attack on McDonough Street.

Fuqua has been charged as an adult with the murder all along but had been held at River Valley Juvenile Detention Center since his arrest in December 2014.

A 22-year-old man who was allegedly driving when Fuqua opened fire in the deadly drive-by, Davia Mayes, was also charged with the murder. Mayes has been held at the adult jail since his December 2014 arrest.
Bond was set at $1 million for both Fuqua and Mayes.

The slain man, Terion Steward, was shot in the head as he walked near the intersection of McDonough and Joliet streets. Prior to the shooting, a group of as many as eight people had gathered by the corner, police said. As Steward and the 14-year-old walked past the group, shots rang out from a vehicle.

The 14-year-old was treated at Presence St. Joseph Medical Center and survived.

Two men were riding in the back seat with Fuqua and Mayes at the time of the shooting, a prosecutor said after they were arrested in 2014. One of the backseat passengers told police they were “in that area looking to shoot a rival gang member.”

Neither of the men who were riding in the back of the vehicle were charged in connection with the killing.

One of the backseat passengers, along with Mayes, informed on Fuqua and said he was triggerman, the prosecutor said.