THE FOLLOWING IS A NEWS-GAZETTE ARTICLE BY JENNIFER BAILEY
ABOVE: Keith G. Stone, Jr (photo provided to News-Gazette)
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DANVILLE — Thirty-three-year-old Keith G. Stone Jr. of Danville was a loving dad, son, brother and uncle, says one of his seven sisters, Lovtrail King.
She said she’s over all the gun violence, especially when it hits close to home; and families and communities have to deal with the grief.
“This shouldn’t have happened to him,” King said. “He minded his own business and took care of this son. He was loved.”
Family and friends were to gather for Stone’s funeral mid-day Wednesday at New Life Church of Faith in Danville.
King has set up a Gofundme.com fundraiser to help pay for funeral expenses. King said they have by a certain date to pay Leek & Sons Funeral Home. Her brother didn’t have life insurance. By Wednesday morning, about $1,300 had been raised of a $10,000 goal.
She said any financial donation will help the family with this unexpected loss.
Stone was one of two shooting victims killed, the other a 17-year-old whose name hasn’t been released, in a triple shooting on Nov. 27 at a Danville East Main Street barbershop. A third person was injured in the shooting. An arrest in the killings hasn’t been made.
King said she understands the investigation is at a standstill and the family doesn’t know exactly what happened. Just as other people have heard, “somebody came in and his life was taken,” she said.
Danville Deputy Police Chief Terry McCord said there are no updates to release on the case. The department continues to be deep into the investigation, he said.
Stone was a 2010 Danville High School graduate and an employee at Flex-N-Gate in Covington, Ind.
Stone’s obituary reads, “Keith enjoyed life and loved his family and friends. At an early age he had a passion for music and football. He played youth football for the Tilton Panthers and continued on playing in high school and semi-pro (Southern Illinois Chiefs and others). Keith better known as ‘Bud’ has worked with youth camps and also gave a helping hand with the Danville Chargers. Bud decided a lot of his time with his son, nieces and nephews.”
King, of Indianapolis, says she was close with her brother, but they were both busy working all the time to keep in better contact.
“My brother was very outgoing. He was an avid swimmer and he was a diver,” she too said. “He loved football, and helped assist with little league football coaching.”
She said his death is a tragedy.
If anyone can provide more information to assist with the shooting investigation, contact the Danville Police Department at 217-431-2250 or anonymously to Vermilion County Crime Stoppers at vccrimestoppers.org, P3TIPS mobile app or by calling 217-446-TIPS. Vermilion County Crime Stoppers offers rewards of up to $1,000 for information leading to arrests. Every little bit helps.
Tipsters are always 100 percent anonymous when contacting Crime Stoppers and receive a code number to check on rewards. All tips submitted to Crime Stoppers are electronically stripped of any personally identifying information and processed by a third-party answering service.
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