April 08--A funeral has been scheduled for Friday and a protest march Saturday in memory of the Waukegan teenager who was shot and killed by police in Zion.
Amid questions about the circumstances of Justus Howell's death, authorities announced late Monday that Howell had reportedly stolen a handgun shortly before he was fatally shot in the back by a police officer about 2 p.m. Saturday.
But Howell's family members and local civil rights advocates have said they still have questions, including whether Howell, 17, was armed at the time he was shot.
Authorities said the claim that Howell had just stolen a gun came from an 18-year-old Lindenhurst man, who they said was pulled over later Saturday and was found with a handgun magazine in his car.
After he was detained, the man, Tramond Peet, told police that he had arranged to meet Howell earlier that day in Zion to sell him a handgun, officials said.
Police said Peet told them Howell attempted to take the weapon without paying for it and the two struggled over the gun, which at one point discharged. When police arrived, Howell ran off with the gun and police followed, authorities said.
Michael Dizzonne said his wife, Phyllis, sat up in bed when she heard two gunshots Saturday. She told him after the incident that she looked out the window and saw a person across the street fall down, he said. She said she didn't see the wounded person carrying a weapon, her husband said, though he noted that she was also unable to tell his skin color or approximate age.
Peet was charged with a weapons violation and remained in the Lake County Jail on Tuesday.
Law enforcement officials met with invited government officials and community leaders Monday at the Christian Assembly of God in Zion to discuss some of the details of the case.
Investigators from the Lake County Major Crime Task Force on Tuesday continued following leads and seeking witnesses, said George Filenko, commander of the task force and the police chief of Round Lake Park. Filenko said he expected the investigation to take several weeks.
FBI officials have offered assistance, Filenko said, adding that he might ask the federal agency to review the task force's investigation.
"We want to be diligent here," Filenko said.
A wake has been planned for 10 a.m. Friday at First Corinthian Missionary Baptist Church in North Chicago, with a funeral to follow at 11 a.m., according to a family friend who is serving as a spokesman, Al Rogers. He said Howell's family members are "just completely torn apart" and they do not plan to speak publicly before the funeral.
The family was in the process Tuesday of reviewing the credentials of attorneys, Rogers said.
Community activist Clyde McLemore said protesters plan to march on Saturday from the spot of the shooting to the police station.
He cited other alleged harassment of African-Americans by Zion police and called for a state or federal investigation into the shooting and the Zion police in general.
The protest is not endorsed by Howell's family, Rogers said.
dhinkel@tribpub.com
