Gun buyer in Naperville murder tried to shortchange victims before opening fire, prosecutors say

An illegal gun sale turned deadly last weekend in a Naperville parking lot after the buyer allegedly tried to shortchange the victims and then opened fire.

Robert Chatman-Jones of Bellwood and another person showed up to purchase a firearm around 2 p.m. Aug. 29 in a parking lot on Amersale Drive, near Route 59 and North Aurora Road, according to the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.

Chatman-Jones, 20, stepped out of a car and handed money for the gun to Coreon Davis, seated in another vehicle, prosecutors said. Davis counted the money and said he was “short” the amount they agreed on, prosecutors said.

The pair began to “struggle” and Chatman-Jones opened fire, striking Davis and the other occupant, prosecutors said. Everyone had left the parking lot by the time officers arrived. Two shell casings and $100 were found on the ground.

Davis and the other occupant were later found at McCoy Drive and Vaughn Road in Aurora, prosecutors said. Davis, 18, was hospitalized with gunshot wounds to his head and hand and was later pronounced dead. The other occupant, a 17-year-old man, was treated and released, police said.

Chatman-Jones and the other person in his vehicle, 19-year-old Desire Gray of Aurora, were arrested the next day at an apartment complex in Aurora, prosecutors said.

A judge ordered Chatman-Jones held on $4 million bail, while Gray was ordered held on $1.5 million. They each face a charge of first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm and attempted robbery.