UPDATE: 14-year old found guilty of murder

14-year old Zaveon Marks was found guilty by a jury in Peoria County for the murder of 16-year old Zarious Fair. Predictably, there were no other 14-year olds on this jury of his peers. In July, both Marks and 18-year old Doyle E. Nelson were arrested for the murder. Zarious Fair was Peoria’s 11th homicide of 2019.

Because Zaveon was charged as an adult, he faces between 20-40 years in prison. If Judge Katherine Gorman finds the 14-year-old is particularly depraved and beyond the possibility of rehabilitation–which is a very high barrier to meet–Zaveon could be sentenced as long as 60 years in prison. Zaveon would be imprisoned at JDC until he turns 21, then transferred to an adult prison to serve the remainder of his sentence. According to local attorney Susan O’Neil, “They rarely keep juveniles until their 21st birthday, even if the judge in JD court sentences them to a ‘full commitment.”

“During the three-day trial, prosecutors hammered home that Marks and another man, Doyle Nelson, 18, came up behind Fair and another girl as they were walking in the 700 block of East Frye Avenue shortly after 4 p.m. The girl testified that Marks indicated he wanted to rob Fair, though she told jurors that it appeared the two boys would start fighting. Nelson rooted through Fair’s pockets, finding nothing. Then, the girl said, Marks fired four times, striking Fair three times.“¹ 

Zaveon’s defense team, Yolanda Riley & William Loeffel, argued Marks was under the influence of the older and more wordly Nelson (whose trial will not begin until November 18th). The defense said Nelson was a bad influence and had a habit of hanging out with young boys urging them to carry weapons. 15-year old girl who testified against Marks stated the shooter was wearing a black hoodie. However, it was Nelson who wore a black hoodie that day. The defense team used this to say Nelson was the actual shooter, not Zaveon.

Zaveon is the youngest person convicted of murder in over 20 years.

I’ve written extensively on this case in my article To Adult or Not To Adult.

1. Kravetz, Andy. “14-Year-Old Boy Found Guilty of Peoria Murder.” Journal Star, Journal Star, 30 Oct. 2019.