Joshua Ewing was a 26-year-old Black man from Rockford, Illinois, remembered by his father as a lovable son, brother, friend, and father. He was shot on the morning of Wednesday, February 8, 2023, around 10:30 a.m. Witnesses reported someone in a white SUV firing at Joshua’s car near Chestnut and Winnebago Streets. Severely wounded, he drove away and later crashed in a multi-vehicle collision near 1st Avenue and Charles Street. First responders found him at the crash scene; he was taken to a hospital and died of a gunshot wound, according to an autopsy.

Investigators located the white SUV abandoned near Delaware Street and Newport Avenue and found it had been reported stolen out of Chicago. The Rockford Police Department’s Gang Crime Unit identified three suspects. Two Rockford men, 27-year-old Michael Blue and 27-year-old Dezha Manning, were charged with first-degree murder in February 2024. A third man, 25-year-old Marcus Copeland Jr., was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery, and aggravated discharge of a firearm. Copeland pleaded not guilty and was released pretrial under electronic monitoring and no-contact conditions after a judge found probable cause but insufficient clear and convincing evidence to detain him; Blue and Manning remained in custody.

What information might help fill gaps about the moments before the shooting or anyone who saw the white SUV in the area?