DoorDash Driver Shoots Amazon Worker Dead Over Height Joke in Matteson, Illinois

Devonta Hodge, 33, is charged with murder after fatally shooting a janitor outside an Amazon fulfilment centre in Matteson following a joke about his height.

Fatal shooting at Matteson Amazon centre tied to height remark, prosecutors say

Google News MT — Crime (en) reports that a DoorDash delivery driver has been charged with murder after shooting dead a janitorial worker outside an Amazon Fulfilment Centre in Matteson, Illinois, in what prosecutors say began with a joke about his height.

Devonta Hodge, 33, of Gary, Indiana, was ordered detained on Thursday. The victim, Dylan Perkins, 26, of Glenwood, was pronounced dead at Prime Healthcare Services Olympia Fields Hospital after being struck by multiple gunshots to the torso late on Sunday night.

The confrontation

Matteson police said officers responded to a report of shots fired at the fulfilment centre at 7001 Vollmer Road at 10:54 p.m. on Sunday. They found Perkins near the building entrance with multiple gunshot wounds.

According to the Cook County State's Attorney's office, Perkins and two co-workers had stepped outside for a break near the employee bus stop at around 10:30 p.m. About twenty minutes later, Hodge pulled up in a white Ford Escape and walked toward the warehouse to deliver a food order. As he passed the group, Perkins made a joke about Hodge's height. Words were exchanged, but Hodge continued inside, dropped off the delivery, and left the building.

Surveillance footage then captured Perkins approaching Hodge outside the entrance. The two briefly walked alongside each other before Hodge pushed Perkins away. After a second confrontation, Hodge pushed Perkins again, pulled a gun from his waistband, and fired multiple shots at 10:52 p.m., prosecutors said. Perkins collapsed to the ground. Hodge ran toward his vehicle, pointing the handgun back once more before driving away.

The two other janitorial workers, who had been running toward the entrance as Hodge fled, found Perkins lying on the ground.

Investigation and arrest

Investigators identified Hodge as the DoorDash driver assigned to that delivery and tracked his movements. Police located the Ford Escape, which Hodge had rented. Earlier that same day, a representative from the rental company had serviced the vehicle at Hodge's mother's residence in Chicago and left it in his possession, prosecutors said.

At 2:12 a.m. on Monday, Hodge contacted the rental company representative, citing a family emergency and requesting to return the vehicle. When arrangements were made for him to hand it back that evening, he failed to appear and claimed the vehicle was missing, prosecutors said. He later admitted to the representative that he had been involved in a "self-defence incident," that someone had died, and that police had seized the car.

Hodge turned himself in to Matteson police at 12:10 p.m. on Monday. Officers found a Smith & Wesson M&P Shield 9mm handgun in the backpack he was carrying. Prosecutors noted that Hodge holds a valid Firearm Owners Identification Card but does not have a concealed carry licence. He also has a prior weapons conviction for which he served 18 months of misdemeanour probation.

A second Amazon homicide nearby

The Matteson killing comes as Amazon is also dealing with a separate homicide at a delivery station in Melrose Park, a western suburb, earlier this month. Travion R. Taylor, 27, of Chicago, was shot and killed after Quentin S. Williams Jr, 20, of Maywood, allegedly became involved in a domestic dispute with another person who was accompanying Taylor, Melrose Park police said. Williams produced a semiautomatic rifle and fired multiple shots, striking Taylor in the back. All three individuals — Taylor, Williams, and the third person — were Amazon employees, police said. Williams has been charged with one count of first-degree murder.

Following the Matteson shooting, an Amazon spokesperson said all shifts were cancelled and staff were sent home with pay. On-site grief counselling will be made available when the building reopens. The spokesperson added that the company had been increasing security measures in the aftermath of the Melrose Park incident.

Source: Google News MT — Crime (en)