Carbondale murder suspect arrested in southern Calif., found guilty

CARBONDALE, Ill. (KFVS) - A man was arrested in southern California in connection with a southern Illinois murder, and has since been found guilty.

Olando Terrel Sheron, 26, was arrested on a warrant charging him with first-degree murder.

According to Carbondale police, Keon Lavonte Cooper was found shot to death on November 3, 2019 in the 500 block of South Illinois Avenue.

Police said Cooper was talking to three men outside of his vehicle in the parking lot when he was shot by two of the suspects.

Detectives identified Thomas Evans, Jr., Tyren Johnson and Olando Sheron as suspects in the homicide.

Evans, Jr. was previously arrested for concealing or aiding a fugitive and Johnson was arrested for murder in the investigation.

They said Sheron left the area and was not immediately found. An arrest warrant was issued for him.

The Carbondale Police Department, U.S. Marshals Service, Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force in southern Illinois, the Eastern District of Missouri in Cape Girardeau and the Missouri State Highway Patrol worked to find Sheron.

Investigators learned Sheron was evading arrest and living in Southern California.

The U.S. Marshals Service, and Pacific Southwest Regional Fugitive Task Force in Los Angeles, Calif. assisted in the investigation. The task force was comprised of officers from the California Department of Corrections, the Gardena Police Department, the Torrence Police Department and the Long Beach Police Department.

On October 26, they found and arrested Sheron in Gardena, Calif.

He is being held in the Los Angeles County Jail awaiting extradition to Illinois.

The case is being prosecuted by the Jackson County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The Carbondale Police Department said in a release, “we continue to keep Keon Cooper’s family in our thoughts and prayers.”

They said they appreciated the assistance by the other law enforcement agencies.

According Chief Jim McMillen with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety, Sheron also goes by the aliases “Orlando” and “TJ.”

In 2019, Sheron was acquitted in the 2016 shooting death of Jay Harris in Sikeston, Mo.

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