Darran Durrette, a 31-year-old man from Peoria, Illinois, was tragically gunned down on April 12, 2017. The incident occurred around 6:45 p.m. when a ShotSpotter gunshot alert brought police to Harrison Homes on Peoria's southern edge. Officers found Durrette with multiple gunshot wounds to his abdomen and pelvis on a sidewalk in the 2700 block of West Montana Street. Despite being rushed to OSF Saint Francis Medical Center and undergoing emergency surgery, he was pronounced dead at 4:30 the next morning.
Durrette had a history of drug-related crimes, although none recently. His police record included misdemeanors for unlawful possession of drug paraphernalia, unlawful consumption of liquor, and escape, as well as a felony count of theft. In August, he was charged with endangering a child by leaving the youth alone at his residence while he was reportedly hanging out in a tavern. In January, he fled a drunken-driving arrest in northwest Iowa by allegedly dragging a cop 25 feet alongside a pickup truck before driving 450 miles to Fulton County.
At the time of his death, Durrette was the subject of a Fulton County CrimeStoppers "wanted" public appeal, and O'Brien County, Iowa, was planning to extradite him in the drunken-driving case. Despite his troubled past, friends and family spoke against violence and extolled Durrette as "a great father and a great man" at a Murder Stand Down held in his memory.
Peoria police are investigating Durrette's slaying as tied to drugs, according to two high-ranking law-enforcement sources. There were no apparent signs of a robbery or struggle at the scene, and authorities said Durrette's family had no information as to why he was in that area at the time of the shooting. As of the latest updates, Peoria police had no prior interaction with Durrette and officially stated there was no update on the investigation.
