Iowa man held without bail in murder tied to dice game dispute

An Iowa man was ordered held without bail Tuesday for allegedly killing a man who tried to stop a fight that stemmed from an argument over a dice game on the South Side.

Emmanuel Harvey, who was working at an Oral-B toothbrush factory, was recently arrested out of state in the May 14 murder of 29-year-old Alvin Randolph.

Another man, Garland Benson, 26, also was ordered held without bail in July for the deadly shooting in the 6400 block of South Damen.

The day before Randolph was killed, Benson accused another person of cheating during a dice game, prompting Harvey to hit another player with a shovel several times, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

That person suffered a broken wrist. The dispute ended for the day. But Benson and Harvey weren’t done, Santini said.

The pair and several others went to the home of the person Benson accused of cheating the next night, Santini said. Benson and Harvey also had some of their friends following in a van, Santini said.

Several people were on the porch, including the grandmother and mother of Benson and Harvey’s rival, Santini said.

The rival was friends with Randolph who tried to stop the confrontation by allegedly approaching the men with a golf club.

That’s when Benson and Harvey opened fire, Santini said. Soon, two others who were with Benson and Harvey joined their friends and started shooting toward the group of people at the home, Santini said.

Randolph was shot twice in the head and once in the leg.

The offenders fled from the scene where police recovered 24 shell casings, Santini said.

Several witnesses identified Benson and Harvey as Randolph’s killer, Santini said.

Harvey, 23, is a graduate of City High School in Iowa City and takes classes at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids, Assistant Pubic Defender Julie Koehler said.

Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. called Harvey, who is listed in court documents as living in Dubuque, “dangerous.”