Two men charged with murder after Lake Villa man robbed, beaten to death

Two Lake Villa men have been charged with first-degree murder after robbing and beating an ‘innocent man’ to death in Lake Villa Saturday evening.

Jordan L. Toney, 19, of the 39000 block of North Poplar Street in Lake Villa, and Buddy W. Johnson, 20, of the 21600 block of West Birch Street in Lake Villa, have both been charged with three counts of first-degree murder.

The Lake Villa Police Department was called at 10:30 p.m. Saturday to an area near the Walgreens in the 300 block of east Grand Avenue in Lake Villa for a report of an injured person in an alley. Police officers arrived and found a Lake Villa man in his 50s dead.

Lake County Major Crimes Task Force spokesman Christopher Covelli said on Monday that Toney and Johnson robbed the man as he was walking home after making a purchase at a local business.

Covelli said that Toney and Johnson then ‘severally beat the man’ and he fell to the ground where he died from his injuries. Both of the suspects fled the scene.

Covelli also added that both of the suspects did not know the victim. An autopsy performed on the victim, whose identity is being withheld pending notification to family, confirmed that he died from multiple traumatic injuries, the Lake County Coroner’s Office said.

“This man did nothing wrong. He was an innocent victim, minding his own business when he encountered evil in that alley,” Lake Villa Police Chief Craig Somerville said.

“This incident is not reflective of the community of Lake Villa, a family orientated town populated by great people. This was a tragic, senseless act of random violence that, unfortunately can occur anywhere,” Somerville added.

Johnson and Toney are scheduled to appear in court this afternoon.