CENTRALIA, IL — A 29-year-old Centralia man is in the Marion County Jail following a shooting incident early Friday morning in Centralia.
According to Centralia Police Chief Greg Dodson, around 2 a.m. Friday, officers responded to a shooting complaint in the 700 block of Rasback.
When officers arrived they found a van stuck in a ditch at the intersection of Sycamore and Rasback occupied by a male, Tyrone J. Alexander, and female Javanna J. Soles.
A vehicle leaving the area reportedly identified Soles as being responsible for the shooting; however, Curtis Moghadam would later be identified as the shooter. Officers initiated a traffic stop and took three subjects into custody.
Investigators from the Centralia Police Department were contacted and responded to the scene. The male and female who were on scene were detained as well as three passengers in the vehicle that had been stopped and statements were taken from everyone involved.
It was determined that one of the occupants of the stopped vehicle had arranged to purchase drugs from an unidentified subject that had fled the scene before police arrived.
The unidentified subject reportedly stole the money he was given and attempted to flee the area in the van. This lead to a confrontation between several of the subjects.
Dodson says that at some point, Joshua A. Scott claimed the van tried to hit him and he jumped onto the hood. The van then began driving backward and down the street with Scott on the hood before it ended up in the ditch.
Scott’s brother Curtis E. Moghadam, reportedly fired at least one shot from a handgun as police started to approach the area. Scott and Moghadam fled the scene in a vehicle driven by Raymond L. Lawson.
After fleeing the area Moghadam reportedly threw the gun into a grassy area of Laura Leake Park. Lawson, who was apparently not involved in the confrontation, assisted officers later in locating the gun. The gun recovered was a 22 caliber revolver with one spent shell casing inside.
All the statements taken identified Moghadam as the shooter. Moghadam was arrested for alleged aggravated discharge of a firearm, possession of a weapon by a felon, and aggravated assault with a firearm.