EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. – A 22-year-old man from rural Illinois pleaded guilty Monday to a murder outside a Collinsville hotel.
Collinsville police were called to the Hampton Inn near Interstate 55 and Commerce Drive around 11:20 p.m. on April 19, 2020. Police learned a shooting victim, Devin Judd of Lenzburg, Illinois, entered the hotel seeking help.
The Collinsville Fire Department rushed Judd to St. Louis University Hospital, where he later died. He was 23.
The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis collaborated with the Collinsville Police Department and Illinois State Police on the investigation. They arrested Caleb Smith and an accomplice, Dakota Winters of Granite City, within 12 hours of the shooting.
Smith admitted that he and Judd were acquaintances and had been together on the night of the shooting. Smith said he attempted to rob Judd and then shot him.
Smith pleaded guilty to one count of first-degree murder. A Madison County Circuit Court judge sentenced Smith to 40 years in prison. Smith will have to serve 100% of his sentence.
Winters, 27, previously pleaded guilty to armed robbery in connection with the murder and received a 14-year prison sentence.
