Rest in Peace, Demarcus Payne

meanjarhead: Do you know if there has been a fund set up to help the family with expenses?

@Ramble On: I imagine that will be coming.

And if anyone knows anyone who knows anything call Crimestoppers. The son of a ***** that did this need to be caught.

billybob: Geez. They have No Left Turn signs posted on almost every street off of Western into the Arbor District and No Left Turn signs off of Main into the Uplands. These signs are ignored daily. Also ignored...no Left Turn at Moss from Western, No Turn on Right at MLK to Western and No Turn on Red at Main and University. Ignored. I don't think criminals read signs either but then ignoring lawful signage makes one a criminal does it not?

meanjarhead: I was thinking the same thing. The reward should be put this time before details start fading from peoples memory. Unfortunately many of these crimes are solved with the help of money. To me the thing that makes this even more appalling is that a few years ago a child was killed in a drive by shooting while sleeping in their bed in a second floor bedroom. As far as I know no reward was offered and worse yet no has been arrested for that crime either. I am not too optimistic on this case either. I understand the mobile police dept unit that has been put in place. The reality is that people can be terrified if they are seen walking into it but it does show a major police presence in the area.They have a phone number to call that is something as most tips are called in.

I don't want to hijack this thread, but have they arrested anyone for the murder that happened a few weeks ago?

@AnneC: I am about 95% certain they have not.

Do they ever arrest anyone for these incidents?

HipKat:
Rarely. I was just on the phone with someone who lives in East Peoria and works in Pekin. The talk about leaving Peoria for places across the river is getting louder and louder so I was told.

That's my plan and soon. Winter will be winding down in a few weeks.Matter of fact, Pekin people, if you cone across a 3bdrm with a garage in the 700.00 range (tough order, I know, but they do exist) please, please let me know

@Ramble On: there is a website but it crashed If you go to the facebook page for PCAV it is there.

When you thought this couldn't be sadder:PEORIA, Ill. -- The family of a 12-year-old boy, who was shot and killed earlier this week, is speaking out. They are begging the public to help them catch the murderer.
Demarcus Payne, 12, died in the hospital Tuesday afternoon.
He was gunned down just a mile away from his home on North University Street in Peoria.
Payne was a student in the Alternative Learning Program at Woodruff Career and Technical Center.
Police said they found him lying at the intersection of McClure and Broadway with a gunshot wound to the head just before 5 p.m. Monday.
They are still searching for three vehicles that left the area after the shots were fired. They include a grey Jeep, a silver Chevy-Malibu, and a white SUV with lettering on the back that reads, "Baja".
News 25 had a chance to sit down with family members Wednesday afternoon.
They said Demarcus's death is still very surreal.
"He just wanted peace and he wanted to live that way for his family," said Demarcus's cousin, Kentisha Bedenfield. "That's all he wanted."
Family members said the last time they saw Demarcus was around 4:30 p.m. Monday, when he told them he was going to walk to the store alone.
They reported him missing later that night when he didn't come home.
That is when panic set in for his aunt.
"It's like your soul jumped out of your body," said Nea Gates. "It's not fair. You can't possibly understand what his mom is going through. One minute her child is here and the next minute he is gone."
The family remembers Demarcus as a loving brother to five siblings.
They said he was the man of the house, hence his nickname, "Man-Man".
He loved helping his mother and playing video games.The family said they moved to Peoria two years ago to escape the crime in Chicago."His mom wanted to move out of Chicago to a different town for a better situation for her kids," said Bedenfield. "She moved here and look what happened."
The family believes Demarcus was in the wrong place at the wrong time.
They said he was a good kid who did not have any enemies.
Peoria Community Against Violence has set up a donation website for the family to help cover funeral expenses.
To donate, visit forthefamilyofdemarcuspayne.weebly.com.

@Ramble On: forthefamilyofdemarcuspayne.weebly.comBut you will have to wait for tomorrow morning to donate because the donation portion of the page crashed but should be back up in the morning.

Does anyone know how the area around Brons is holding up these days? I ask this because I had friends in school whose grandparents lived on Brons. It is within walking distance from where this happened. At about the same age, or a bit younger as Demarcus Payne, we took the University bus to Brons and got off and walked a couple of block to my friends grandparents. The grandparents often had cookouts in the summer evenings The always used to have the best sweet corn which they got from a farm. I cant imagine doing things like that in the current environment.

That whole area is a nightmare. I'm not sure what the district is called. When I lived on Gale/University, that's El Vista but all of that, up University to Forrest Hill and then East is ghetto, crime, and bad