Rayshawn Simon, a 41-year-old Black man from Carbondale, Illinois, was known to some by the nickname "RayRay." His life was cut short in the spring of 2023 when he was shot and killed in his hometown.
On the night of April 28, 2023, at around 10:50 p.m., Carbondale Police officers responded to a report of a shooting in the 700 block of South Lewis Lane. Upon arrival, they discovered Rayshawn Simon suffering from gunshot wounds. The officers provided immediate life-resuscitating measures until the Jackson County Ambulance Service arrived. Paramedics transported Simon to the Memorial Hospital of Carbondale, where he was later pronounced deceased.
Detectives with the Carbondale Police Department launched a homicide investigation that quickly led to arrests. The following day, April 29, authorities took two local men into custody. The suspects were identified as 37-year-old Dewayne E. Jones Jr. and 24-year-old Jeffrey J. Harris, both of Carbondale.
They were both incarcerated in the Jackson County Jail.
The Jackson County State’s Attorney’s office pursued charges against both men. In May 2023, a grand jury indicted Jones on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm, and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Harris was indicted on one count of aggravated battery and one count of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. A judge set bond at $2 million for Jones and $100,000 for Harris.
Following the indictment, the case against Dewayne E. Jones Jr. proceeded to trial, where he was found guilty and convicted of murder for his role in Rayshawn Simon's death. Jones later appealed the verdict, but his conviction was affirmed by an Illinois appellate court, solidifying the outcome of the case.
