DECATUR, Ill. (WAND) — A man arrested in connection to the shooting of 34-year-old Herman Jones tried to shower with alcohol to wash away evidence, according to a police sworn statement.
Jones was found on the sidewalk around the intersection of North Church St. and West Leafland Ave. just before 9 p.m. on April 12. He had been shot in the chest. Jones was taken to Decatur Memorial Hospital, but died from his injuries.
Following an investigation into the phone records of Jones, Decatur detectives located Reginald Pritchett, 31, in Clinton the day after the shooting. According to records, Pritchett already had an active arrest warrant for aggravated assault with a firearm, reckless discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful possession of a weapon. Officers took Pritchett into custody.
Detectives interviewed Pritchett's girlfriend, who told them his behavior was abnormal, saying that he wasn't eating or sleeping. She also told detectives that he brought in a cup of rubbing alcohol into the shower to rub on his arms and hands. He also urinated on on his hand during the shower, according to his girlfriend.
Later, the girlfriend told police that Pritchett had called her from jail and told her that a 9mm handgun, belonging to her, was hidden behind a shed in a yard not far from the shooting location.
Officers found the gun, stuffed in a sock, near a shed in the described location. In surveillance footage, detectives saw that Pritchett was only wearing one sock the night of the murder.
Pritchett was arraigned Monday on a murder charge and denied pretrial release. He heads back to court April 30.
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