Chicago man gets 95 years for his involvement in a 2018 Elgin double murder
ELGIN — My Huntley News previously reported on the felony offenses committed by 26-year-old Travaris D. Stevenson, of the 5000 block of West Congress Parkway in Chicago.
Back in November of 2021, a Kane County jury found Stevenson guilty of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and armed violence for the April 2018 shooting deaths of Raymond Dyson, 29, and Mark McDaniel, 26, both of Elgin.
On April 4, Kane County Circuit Court Judge David P. Kliment sentenced Stevenson to serve 95 years of imprisonment in the Illinois Department of Corrections (IDOC) following evidence presented by Assistant State’s Attorneys Greg Sams, Hillary Sadler, and Hannah Thayer.
The three assistant state’s attorneys alleged that at about 2 p.m. on April 29, 2018, Stevenson and another man met Dyson and McDaniel in a parking lot in the 1-99 block of Longwood Place in Elgin.
Stevenson had traveled from Chicago to Elgin to sell a pound of marijuana to the two victims.
Upon his arrival in Elgin, Stevenson got into the back seat of a car, where Dyson and McDaniel were both seated in the front. Stevenson then proceeded to shoot Dyson in the back of the head, and shoot McDaniel twice in the back.
Stevenson took the marijuana and fled on foot with the other male suspect following the incident. Elgin police officers caught the men about a half-mile from the crime scene 20 minutes later.
“During the sentencing hearing, prosecutors presented more than two dozen photographs from the defendant’s mobile phone that showed him posing with numerous guns, including AK-type weapons, and multiple other guns with extended magazines, many of which included laser sights,” said Mosser. “All of these photographs were taken while the defendant was on parole for a previous felony and was prohibited from possessing guns.”
Additionally, prosecutors noted that Stevenson is charged in Cook County for an unrelated shooting incident that happened during a drug transaction that occurred a month before he murdered Dyson and McDaniel.
Stevenson’s 95-year prison sentence includes 35 years for the first-degree murder charge plus a 25-year enhancement because he personally fired the gun, 20 years for the armed violence charge, and 15 years for the second-degree murder charge. The terms are to be served consecutively.
According to Illinois law, Stevenson must serve the full murder sentence, must serve at least 85% of the armed violence sentence, and is eligible for day-for-day sentencing on the second-degree murder sentence.
Seeing as Stevenson has been incarcerated at the Kane County Adult Justice Center since May 2018, he will receive credit for the 1,428 days he has served.
“The murders of Mark McDaniel and Raymond Dyson show why there are laws that prohibit selling large amounts of marijuana. Those sales are fraught with the high risk of violence, as participants on both sides usually are armed with guns, believing the other side may have motives other than a peaceful drug sale,” said Sams. “That is what happened in Elgin on April 29, 2018. The defendant shot Raymond Dyson in the back of the head, and Mark McDaniel in the back, killing both of them.”
Stevenson is still being held at the Kane County jail in St. Charles until he can be transferred to an IDOC facility.
“[Stevenson’s] actions, his criminal history, his infatuation with possessing guns when he was on parole and prohibited from doing so, all were reasons for the judge to hand down this sentence, which will protect the community from the defendant for many years,” Sams added. “The residents of Elgin should be proud of the work its police officers did in this case, with special thanks to Detectives Scott St. John, Chris Hughes, and Carla Carter. My special thanks also to ASAs Sadler and Thayer for their excellent work.”
