A Chicago teen, 17, faces a murder charge for allegedly shooting a man in an alley behind a Hammond Kwik Mart over a $20 drug deal.
The Post-Tribune is not naming him, because he is a minor. He is charged with two counts each of murder and robbery.
Durron DeGroot, 23, of Hammond, was found dead, shot once in the head.
Court records indicate the teen charged was being held at the Cook County juvenile detention center on April 5. He has since been extradited to Lake County Juvenile Center in Indiana.
Police arrived just before 5 p.m. Aug. 6, 2022 to Kwik Mart, 4203 Hohman Avenue.
A man told police he was set to sell DeGroot $20 worth of marijuana. Since he didn’t have a car, he sent a relative, 17, who brought a friend, the teen now charged, charges allege. The three met at an East Chicago park to talk about the drug deal.
At Kwik Mart, DeGroot went to the alleyway and appeared to “exchange something” with a teen in a green sweatshirt.
The driver, wearing black and white, steps out, then DeGroot appears to fall down. The teen in the green sweatshirt momentarily flinched from the gunshot. He grabbed a gun off DeGroot’s waist belt, before they fled.
Another witness said they were on FaceTime with DeGroot just before the shooting. DeGroot went inside to wait for the dealer. The witness told him to leave if no one showed.
“I hope I’m not getting set up,” he said repeatedly.
A few minutes before the shooting, another witness called the police, saying he saw two young men wearing hoodies and face masks in summer in a “suspicious” gray Kia at a nearby gas station.
The Kwik Mart shooting was captured on security footage.
