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Shears pleads not guilty in RI shooting

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By Dustin Lemmon | Wednesday, August 13, 2008 9:14 AM CDT | () comments

A Davenport man pleaded not guilty Tuesday in connection with the June 22 shooting death of Larrion Wellington in Rock Island.

Darryl Bernard Shears Jr., 24, entered his plea in Rock Island County Circuit Court on a single murder count after a judge found probable cause that he committed the crime.

Shears had been in custody in Scott County Jail since his arrest June 23 following a vehicle chase with Davenport police in which he was one of four people in the vehicle. Police said they were trying to stop the vehicle to question Shears about the Rock Island shooting.

Shears recently waived his extradition to Illinois.

Wellington, 22, also of Davenport, was among a group of people at 5th Street and 15th Avenue in Rock Island around midnight June 22 when Shears yelled something out the window of his passing car, police testified last week at a Rock Island County Coroner’s inquest.

When Shears pulled over and walked back to the crowd, everyone fled, except for Wellington. He was shot in the abdomen at close range.

Several witnesses identified Shears as the shooter, police said. Shears told police he was high on the drug Ecstasy at the time and became agitated when the group that included Wellington made fun of him for his intoxicated stagger.

Wellington died at a local hospital the morning after the shooting.

Shears remained in custody at the Rock Island County Jail Tuesday on $2 million bond. His next court date is Sept. 22.

Dustin Lemmon can be contacted at (563) 383-2493 or dlemmon@qctimes.com. Comment on this story at qctimes.com.