Delays Lead To Charges Dropped Against Defendant In Redding Murder

Delays in the case have prompted prosecutors to drop murder charges against Devon Craig, one of the suspects in last summer’s shooting death of Allen Redding of Champaign.  But those charges could be refiled at a later time.

Champaign County State’s Attorney Julia Rietz says in a statement released Friday, that she was dismissing the murder charges against Craig, because delays in the forensic analysis of evidence have caused the case to be continued beyond the legal deadline.

Rietz said that Craig, through his attorney, had objected to the continuances, as they ran up against the legal maximum.

“Defendants who are in custody have a right to have their cases heard within a certain time period”, noted Rietz.

While murder charges remain in place against a co-defendant, Micah Hopkins, Devon Craig remains jailed on other charges, including aggravated intimidation and harassment of a witness. He’s accused of trying to get a witness to change testimony in relation to the case. Rietz says the murder charges against Craig could be re-filed, once the state Police lab completes its analysis of the evidence.

The 26 year old Redding was killed in Champaign’s Garden Hills neighborhood on the evening of June 24th, 2014. His death was part of a string of shooting incidents that raised concern about violence in Champaign’s north side neighborhoods.

Devon’s brother, Paul E. Craig, was also charged in connection with Redding’s death. He was charged with being present at the killing and possessing a gun.