Robbery suspect was hit by four shots

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By Dustin Lemmon | Friday, April 18, 2008 |

Kelton Trice (CONTRIBUTED PHOTO)

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Officer Shooting Statement

Kelton Trice was already running away from other officers Wednesday when he was confronted by Sgt. Tom Peterson and the two exchanged gunfire, a task force investigating the incident reported Friday.

Rene Sandoval, commander of the Rock Island County Integrity Task Force, said Peterson arrived at the scene alone and met Trice, 21, in an East Moline alley where the shooting occurred.

Trice died after being shot four times in the chest outside the home where he and his grandmother lived at 1005 17th Street, East Moline, shortly after 5 p.m. Autopsy results showed all four shots hit the left lateral side of his chest, and one that went all the way through his body caused his death.

Peterson, who was shot twice, had gone to the scene to assist others in arresting Trice on a warrant for an armed robbery at a neighborhood store. His bulletproof vest prevented the bullets from entering Peterson’s body but still caused injuries that put him in the hospital overnight, Sandoval said.

Six shell casings and two weapons were recovered at the scene, Sandoval said. Police have reported that the incident started in a park in the 1500 block of 10th Avenue where Trice ran from police.

Witnesses said some shots were fired near the park, but no shell casings have been found there, Sandoval said.

The two officers who arrived immediately after the shooting still had fully loaded guns and extra magazines, Sandoval said, adding the shooting was over by the time they arrived.

Sandoval said officers are still conducting interviews and had not talked to Peterson as of Friday afternoon.

The two guns, including one belonging to Peterson, and shell casings found at the scene as well as the weapons of the other officers who arrived shortly after have been taken for testing at a lab.

Sandoval did not know if Peterson was knocked down by the shots that hit him and said police are still investigating witness reports that Trice was shot after he went down. He could not say if Trice was still firing his weapon after he hit the ground.

“That’s what we want to determine,” he said.

East Moline Police Chief Victor Moreno said that when being shot at or physically threatened, his officers are “granted the authority and justified to use deadly force.” In such cases, it’s up to an outside agency to investigate the circumstances that led to the shooting.

Rock Island County Coroner Sharon Anderson wouldn’t speculate as to whether any of the other shots that hit Trice could have eventually caused his death. Anderson said an inquest is pending but likely won’t be scheduled until June at the earliest.

Trice was charged in Rock Island County Circuit Court on Wednesday afternoon in connection with a robbery April 9 at Gas N Dash Mart, 809 19th St., East Moline.

Devon Dixon, 20, is also charged in that robbery and several others. He was involved in an incident Tuesday in which he allegedly shot at a Moline police detective and struck the rear window of the officer’s car.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com.