Lakasia Gregory, a 19-year-old African American woman from Elgin, Illinois, was tragically killed in a shooting on August 15, 2020. The incident occurred around 4:18 a.m. on the Eisenhower Expressway in Austin, Chicago. Gregory was riding in a vehicle in the eastbound lanes of I-290, east of Central Avenue, when another vehicle opened fire. She was pronounced dead at 7:41 p.m.
on August 20, 2020, at Stroger Hospital.
The shooting also injured the driver, a 21-year-old woman, who sustained non-life-threatening injuries. Two other passengers, a 23-year-old man and a 19-year-old woman, were not injured. The Illinois State Police were called to investigate the incident and urged anyone with information to come forward.
In June 2021, Dezhawn D. Seargent, a 27-year-old man from Maywood, was charged with murder for his role in the shooting. Seargent was allegedly driving the vehicle from which the shots were fired. He was held at the Cook County Jail without bond. Later, in September 2021, another man, Xavier D. Richardson, was also charged with murder. Richardson, who was on bail for felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle at the time of the shooting, was accused of firing the shots that killed Gregory. He was charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder.
The investigation revealed that the shooting was part of a gang conflict. Richardson and Seargent were allegedly targeting a rival gang member who was in the same vehicle as Gregory. The intended target was shot in the arm but survived. The assailants used a series of surveillance cameras and phone records to trace the suspects' movements before, during, and after the shooting.
The tragic death of Lakasia Gregory highlights the ongoing issue of gang violence in Chicago. Despite the arrests and charges, the case underscores the need for continued efforts to address the root causes of such violence and to bring justice to the victims and their families.
