Carbondale police make arrest in homicide case, won’t comment on much else at press conference

By Tyler Davis, @TDavis_DE

Update: Carbondale police have named Travis T. Tyler, 21, and John F. Ingram, 21, both of Cape Girardeau, Mo., as suspects in the shootings early Sunday. Each man is charged with aggravated battery with a firearm, a Class X felony, and aggravated discharge of a firearm, a Class 1 felony. 

Nearly 36 hours after a man was shot and another was killed Sunday morning, Carbondale police announced an arrest has been made in the case and two men are being searched for. 

Carbondale police spokesman Sgt. Corey Kemp said police arrested 21-year-old Dwayne J. Dunn Jr., of St. Louis, charging him with reckless discharge of a firearm at a party after shots were fired about 2 a.m. Sunday at 402 W. Walnut Sgt. Kemp could not confirm if Dunn’s shots killed Tim Beaty, 41, who was in his bedroom in a neighboring house.

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Dunn, who is not an SIU student, was arrested early Sunday after the party and is being held at Jackson County Jail on $500,000 bond.

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Monday was the first time police released information about any arrests or suspects in the case. Kemp said he also could not comment about the status of a second male who suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound. The man was later revealed to be Nehemiah Greenlee, who is not an SIU student. 

The Daily Egyptian, as well as other news outlets, had attempted to get confirmation about the shooting, victims and suspects on the case since about 3 a.m. Sunday.

MORE: One dead, another wounded after gunfire at Carbondale party

He said because he does not work on the weekends, it is difficult to relay information to the media. He said he came in Sunday to write a brief news release about the shooting. Usually, if Kemp is not in the office, the sergeant or lieutenant on duty can answer questions from the media. 

“It’s a process, usually the sergeant will pass [information] along for someone to call back,” he said. “I always have my phone on me — I’m not going to give you my phone number — but you can email me and I’ll get back to you.”

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Police are looking for other suspects, but Kemp could not comment on their descriptions or if they are SIU students. By the Daily Egyptian’s count, Kemp said “no comment” at least 19 times during 14-minute news conference Monday. 

MORE: Opinion: ‘Cannot comment’ cannot cut it anymore

“Due to the nature of investigations, we cannot jeopardize anything that may come in the future, so we withhold certain information to make sure our investigation is all inclusive, and we cover all of our bases,” he said

He said no information was available about the number of shots fired, the nature of the second victim’s injury, how the bullets entered Baity’s home or who owns the home at 402 W. Walnut St. 

The shooting was at least the fourth Carbondale incident involving a gun in 2016. Kemp said the department will continue to talk to residents to try to prevent violent crimes.

MORE: How safe do you feel in Carbondale? Join the conversation here.

“This is your police department, this is your community, we do a lot, but we need help also,” he said. “That’s one thing — we make sure the community is out there helping us also. … We make sure we do our due diligence.” 

When officers responded to the home Sunday, they encountered a large group of partiers leaving the residence after an altercation, Kemp said. He said shots were fired both inside and outside the home.

MORE: A Daily Egyptian reporter was at this party. Here’s what she heard and saw.

Kemp could not confirm if the home or party had anything to do with SIU students or any SIU organization.

He said the department and city have considered ways to limit large gatherings that can turn violent, but must respect people’s right to assemble.

Anyone with information about the incident is encouraged to contact the Carbondale Police Department at (618) 457-3200 or Crime Stoppers at (618) 549-COPS (2677).

Tyler Davis can be reached at [email protected] or 618-536-3325.

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