EAST ST. LOUIS – Illinois State Police special agents arrested 30-year-old Corey C. Ayers of East St. Louis on Tuesday, March 3, 2026, on a first-degree murder charge in connection with the April 2025 shooting death of 22-year-old Jamya T. Dukes of Granite City, authorities said.
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The arrest followed an investigation that began April 1, 2025, when the Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis requested assistance from the Illinois State Police in a homicide case. Dukes was dropped off at Touchette Regional Hospital with a gunshot wound and was later pronounced dead, police said.
Investigators initially did not know where the shooting occurred, but an extensive investigation traced the location to the 700 block of Veronica Avenue in East St. Louis, where Ayers was identified as a suspect, authorities said.
On Monday, March 2, 2026, Illinois State Police special agents and the Major Case Squad presented the case to St. Clair County State’s Attorney James Gomric, who approved one count of first-degree murder and issued an arrest warrant, police said.
On Tuesday, March 3, 2026, with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service, Illinois State Police special agents located Ayers and took him into custody, authorities said. He is being held at the St. Clair County Jail pending his first court appearance.
The charge is not evidence against the defendant, and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.
