A young Black/African American man's life was tragically cut short in the early morning hours of Sunday, March 5, 2017, in Davenport, Iowa. The body of 18-year-old Demetrius Jerome Gregory Allen Jr. was discovered in the northeast corner of the parking lot of Brady Street Stadium. An autopsy later confirmed that the teenager had been shot.
Demetrius, born on January 21, 1999, in Davenport, was a high school graduate who had a passion for drawing and rap music.
He was a son, a brother to eleven siblings, and a loving and caring individual known for always smiling. His sudden and violent death left his family and community in mourning.
For more than three years, the case of Demetrius Allen's murder remained unsolved, leaving his loved ones without answers. However, in October 2020, a significant breakthrough in the investigation led to the arrests of three men. Chontez Graham, then 24, from Jefferson City, Missouri, was the first to be charged with first-degree murder and robbery in connection with Allen's death.
Shortly after Graham's arrest, two more suspects were charged. Darryl Merritt, 23, of Cahokia, Illinois, and Dyon Thomas, 22, of East St. Louis, Illinois, also faced charges of first-degree murder. At the time of the charges, both Merritt and Thomas were already incarcerated in the Iowa Department of Corrections on other matters. According to police affidavits, the three men had planned to rob and kill Demetrius Allen, ultimately shooting him multiple times during the commission of the robbery.
