Dearius E. Jones, a 32-year-old African American man from Springfield, Illinois, was shot multiple times outside the Wet Bar nightclub in downtown Springfield on August 8, 2020, just before 3 a.m. The shooting followed a private event that drew a large crowd outside the club; a fight broke out and shots were fired. Jones was taken to HSHS St. John’s Hospital and died shortly afterward.

Jonathan Austin, 26, was charged with first-degree murder and several weapon-related felonies in connection with the shooting, but a jury returned not guilty on all four murder counts in October 2022. The Sangamon County State’s Attorney’s office expressed disappointment with the verdict and urged witness cooperation in violent crime investigations. The killing was the city’s eighth homicide of 2020 and prompted scrutiny of the Wet Bar’s liquor license; a makeshift memorial was placed outside the club in Jones’s memory.

Did anyone in Springfield see what happened outside the Wet Bar that night or have information that could still help clarify events?