Country Club Hills man charged in University Park murder
BY JON SEIDEL Sun-Times Media jseidel@suntimes.com January 26, 2012 12:20PM
Tommy L. Crockwell
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Updated: January 26, 2012 4:08PM
Johnny Rouse grew up in University Park’s Craig Park, his father said.
He learned how to play basketball there. And baseball. That’s where he played his Little League games.
“He learned everything in that park,” Keith Rouse said of his son.
But police said that’s also where his life ended. They said Johnny “Duke” Rouse, 19, was found dead there of a single gunshot wound Oct. 26, launching a three-month investigation with the Will County Major Crimes Task Force. Now prosecutors have charged Tommy L. Crockwell, 42, with two counts of first-degree murder.
Keith Rouse said he’s been told his youngest child was shot in the back of his neck. The teen had been carrying an iPod and a cell phone, and he had his favorite fruit punch “locked in his arm.” But he’s still missing one detail — why a Country Club Hills man he’d never heard of would kill his son.
“Johnny didn’t hang in Country Club Hills,” Keith Rouse said. “Not that I know of.”
University Park Police Chief Mel Davis won’t say exactly what happened. His department has been tight-lipped about the investigation, even after filing the charges against Crockwell Wednesday afternoon. The case remains under investigation, according to a statement from the village.
Davis did say Rouse’s murder wasn’t random.
“We do have motive,” Davis said.
Records show Crockwell was being held Thursday afternoon at the Will County Jail, and Davis said his bail was set at $1 million. He said police surprised Crockwell at his home Wednesday afternoon in the 4400 block of Provincetown Drive in Country Club Hills.
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