ALTON – As many as 25 investigators from several departments across the St. Louis Metro Area have been activated through the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis after the apparent homicide of two Alton men Monday night.
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Elijah S. Ingram, 30, of Alton and Derrick J. Vaughn, 28, also of Alton were found dead in the 3100 Block of Lawn Street in the Alton Acres neighborhood after the Alton Police Department responded to a 10:31 p.m. call of shots fired. Each appeared to have died from gunshot wounds. Police determined those responsible for the shooting had fled before their arrival, and a press release issued from Lt. Kris Tharp of the Major Case Squad and Madison County Sheriff's Office stated authorities believe the suspect or suspects knew the victims, adding it is not believed to be a “random act of violence.”
Tharp said no motive was known by police at this time and said the crime is not believed to be connected to any other recent crimes in Alton. He also said he could not comment on a possible motive for the killings at this time.
Vaughn was scheduled to appear in Madison County Felony Court Wednesday morning at 10 a.m. for sentencing after pleading guilty to two counts of delivering a controlled substance containing cocaine to a covert informant in Alton in 2016 and one count of illegally possessing a substance containing alprazolam (the generic name of Xanax) also in 2016. Vaughn had originally pleaded not guilty to the crime, and changed his plea on Jan. 8, 2018.
Authorities could not comment at this time whether that court date had anything to do with his murder.
Anyone with any information involving this double homicide is asked to contact the Major Case Squad at (618) 463-3505 ext: 645 or call in an anonymous tip at the St. Louis Regional Crimestoppers hotline, which is 1-866-371-TIPS (8477). A reward is being offered from Crimestoppers for any information leading to the arrest of a suspect in this case.Steven Spencer also contributed to this story.
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