Polo man charged in Rockford homicide

E-mail this story

Print this story

Share

POLO - A 24-year-old Polo man with a history of drug possession was charged Tuesday with three counts of first-degree murder in the death of a Rockford man shot May 27, in what police have called a drug deal gone bad. Illinois State Police arrested Joshua L. Jones at his home at 211 N. Pleasant Ave. He was taken to Lee County jail, then transferred to Winnebago County, where he is being held on $1 million bond. The arrest warrant was issued by the Rockford Police Department. According to Rockford police, Jones and a Fulton couple arrested in June acted in concert in the death of Larry "Chico" D. Wright, 36, shot three times, once in the head, as he was sitting in his car in Rockford. Adam D. Meyer, 22, formerly of Dixon, and Elizabeth S. Lawyer, 26, are in Winnebago County jail in connection with Wright's murder. Meyer, who investigators believe is the shooter, is charged with 12 counts of murder and is being held on $1.5 million bond. Lawyer, accused of providing the gun, is being held on $1 million. Rockford Deputy Chief Greg Lindmark said Wright's slaying was a drug-related murder in which Jones is accused to have been an accomplice. He declined to elaborate on Jones' role. Meyer and Lawyer were arrested after a tip to State Police in Sterling, then-Blackhawk Area Task Force Master Sgt. John Biffany said at the time. "It was a heroin deal gone bad," said Biffany, now chief of the Rockford drug unit, the State Line Area Narcotics Team. "The motive was robbery for drugs and money," Deputy Chief Greg Lindmark told the Rockford Register Star. "Adam Meyer knew Wright from previous contacts." Meyer has been identified as the shooter, but "Lawyer played a contributing role," Lindmark said. "Both fled the scene together in a vehicle after the shooting," he told the Register Star. At the time, police said no further arrests were expected. Jones was in the car at the time of Wright's murder, but Lindmark declined to say how the investigation led them to the Polo man, he said. At the time of his arrest, Jones was free on $20,000 bond on another drug-related charge in Lee County. In September, he and his ex-girlfriend, Julia J.M. Vaught, 24, were arrested for allegedly selling 30-milligram and 60-milligram morphine tablets, with a street value of $5 each, to undercover officers 8 months before. Officers bought 30 tablets in Lee County and 50 tablets in Ogle County, investigators said. Jones, who had a prescription for morphine, allegedly was using the money to buy heroin in Rockford, Biffany said. He is charged in Lee County Court with delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a church, which carries 4 to 14 years in prison, and two counts of delivery of a controlled substance, each of which carries 3 to 7 years. A pretrial hearing is scheduled for Jan. 15. Vaught is charged with delivery of a controlled substance. She was released in October on a recognizance bond and has a status hearing Feb. 25. According to court records, Jones was sentenced in Ogle County in November 2007 to 2 years probation for felony possession of cocaine. He also has a court hearing Monday on a misdemeanor charge. He's accused of resisting a Polo police officer who was trying to arrest him on an outstanding warrant. He also has a litany of felony, misdemeanor and traffic violations in Lee, Ogle, Stephenson and Winnebago counties, according to court records. Two weeks before Wright's shooting, Meyer was charged with misdemeanor possession of a hypodermic needle for heroin use. Lawyer has a misdemeanor conviction for possession of drug paraphernalia, court records show.