Lewis Brown III, a 22-year-old Black man from Rockford, was shot during an argument in the parking lot of Blackhawk Park shortly after 2 a.m. on August 4, 2025. Officers were called to 101 15th Avenue, where they found Brown on the ground with gunshot wounds; he was rushed to the hospital and later pronounced dead. An autopsy confirmed he died from a gunshot wound.
Detectives traced the violence to a confrontation that escalated in the lot before shots rang out, a detail echoed in early reports as police searched for answers in the hours after the killing. Accounts from that morning describe the call coming in around 1:58 a.m., with investigators noting the dispute that preceded the gunfire.
Four days later, Rockford police announced an arrest. Daniel Chavez-Gerde, 20, of Rockford, turned himself in on August 8 and was charged with first-degree murder in Brown’s death; police also noted he had an outstanding warrant in an unrelated case. Authorities said they had identified him as the suspect during the week and had attempted multiple times to find and arrest him prior to his surrender.
Family notices published after the homicide identified the victim as Lewis “Pabloo” Brown III and confirmed the August 4 date of death in Rockford. These remembrances placed his life within the community he grew up in even as the criminal case moved forward following the arrest.
