DANVILLE, Illinois — A Danville man has been charged with murder in the shooting death of a 21-year-old on a residential street, and a judge was set to decide on Thursday, November 5, whether he stays in jail while the case proceeds. Kenneth A. Nance, 58, of Danville, was arraigned on November 4 on charges of first-degree murder, attempted murder and being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm in the November 2 death of Kumarrion Owens, WCIA reported from Danville Police Department statements and Vermilion County court records. Nance was appointed a public defender, pleaded not guilty, and had a detention hearing scheduled for November 5. The charges are allegations; Nance is presumed innocent unless the state proves them in court.

The shooting happened on Monday afternoon, November 2, in the 500 block of West Woodbury Street in Danville, a residential area of the Vermilion County seat in east-central Illinois, near the Indiana state line. Danville police officers responded shortly after 3:30 p.m. to a report of a person with a gunshot wound and found a 21-year-old man wounded at the scene, WCIA reported. Medical personnel took him to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The victim: Kumarrion Owens, 21

On November 3, the Vermilion County Coroner's Office identified the man who died as Kumarrion Owens, 21, of Danville. Coroner Jane McFadden said in a news release that Owens was the person killed on Woodbury Street, that his family had been notified, and that an autopsy was scheduled for later this week. The coroner's office and the Danville Police Department both remain involved in the investigation into the shooting and Owens's death.

How the arrest unfolded

From the first hours, police said the shooter was already in custody. Danville Deputy Police Chief Doug Miller said on November 2 that a 58-year-old man was in custody in connection with the shooting, but that his identity was being withheld until formal charges were filed. That changed on November 4, when the Danville Police Department publicly identified the man as Kenneth A. Nance of Danville and court records showed he had been arraigned. The department has not released a motive, and neither the police statements nor the court reporting describe what led to the shooting on Woodbury Street.

The charges, count by count

Court records reported by WCIA show three charges. First-degree murder covers the death of Kumarrion Owens. Attempted murder is also charged: police and court reporting have not publicly identified a second person as the alleged target of that count, and no second wounded victim was reported from the Woodbury Street scene. The third charge, being a convicted felon in possession of a firearm, alleges that Nance — who has a prior felony conviction, according to the charge — was not legally permitted to possess the gun involved. The public record reported so far does not describe the firearm or how investigators say Nance obtained it.

A second Danville killing case this year

This is not the first fatal-shooting prosecution Danville has seen in 2026. In May, a separate shooting at a Save-A-Lot parking lot in the city killed 22-year-old Ricky Dandridge Jr., and 23-year-old Dominick K. Cotton was charged, pleaded not guilty and was denied pretrial release in that case, WCIA reported at the time. The two cases are unrelated, but together they frame the backdrop for Thursday's hearing: Vermilion County judges have already shown in a 2026 Danville murder case that pretrial detention is a real outcome when the state asks for it.

The investigation is still open

The Danville Police Department and the Vermilion County Coroner's Office are still investigating the shooting and Owens's death, and police are asking the public for help. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact the Danville Police Department at 217-431-2250 or Vermilion County Crime Stoppers at 217-446-TIPS (217-446-8477), where tips can be given anonymously. The results of Owens's autopsy, scheduled for this week, have not yet been released.

What happens next

The immediate next step is the November 5 detention hearing, which decides whether Nance remains in custody or is released under conditions while awaiting trial. Beyond that, the autopsy findings from the coroner's office and any further police releases on a motive or on the attempted-murder count are the open questions in the case. A trial date has not been announced. For Owens's family — notified on November 3, before the accused man's name was public — the court process that began with Wednesday's arraignment is the path the case now follows.