EDWARDSVILLE – A jury has declared Vincent Gordon guilty on all counts following a week-long trial in Madison County in which Gordon represented himself.
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Gordon was charged with the murders of Derrick J. Vaughn, 28, and Elijah Ingram, 30, both of Alton at a residence in the 3100 block of Lawn Street in Alton on May 21, 2018. He was convicted of two counts of first degree murder for shooting Vaughn in the head and Ingram multiple times about the body with a 9mm pistol. He was also charged with unlawful possession of weapons by a felony, a Class 2 Felony, and escape, a Class 3 Felony, for violating conditions of his release from the Illinois Department of Corrections by removing an electronic device required to be on his person.
He was previously convicted of several charges related to violence with a firearm after a June 28, 2015 incident in which he and his brother discharged a semi-automatic assault rifle, identified as an AK-47 by sources close to the investigation, wounding as many as six people in the C & M Lounge located in Brooklyn, Illinois. He was sentenced to six years, but was released earlier in 2018.
Gordon has various other convictions and charges in Missouri and Illinois, including reckless homicide related to a 2004 incident in Madison County due to a death caused buy him driving under the influence. In Missouri he has three counts of robbery, with one in the first degree, three counts of kidnapping and three counts of armed criminal action.
"The city should be very proud of the Alton Police Department, the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis and for the Madison County State's Attorney for their awesome work," Alton Police Chief Jake Simmons said in a text. "I am also proud of the witnesses and family members of the victims who cooperated with the investigation, many times locating people for us who were important witnesses to the case."
More than 25 investigators worked on the case with Gordon's arrest occurring within three days of the murders. He was subdued at a home in Alton.
Sentencing for Gordon will occur at a later date, and Madison County State's Attorney Tom Gibbons said during a May 2018 press conference his office was seeking a life sentence.
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