A Cook County judge on Friday ordered detention for a Glen Ellyn man accused of killing his girlfriend, an Office of Emergency Management and Communications worker, in February in their Far North Side home.
Darreon Plummer made his first court appearance in Chicago since extradition from Washington state, where police say he fled to after firing 16 fatal shots at his then-girlfriend, Da’J Flowers.
Plummer, 33, was arrested on a warrant for first-degree murder on Sept. 1 near Oak Harbor, Washington, a bayside town about 70 miles north of Seattle, prosecutors said during a detention hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Plummer was living in Washington under the false name Dajuan Jackson, Assistant State’s Attorney Madison Freeman told the court.
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Plummer’s first-degree murder charge is tied to Flowers’ Feb. 5 death in a residence they shared in the 6900 block of North Bell Avenue in the West Ridge community. Flowers, who had been in a dating relationship with Plummer since 2023, was an employee of the city’s OEMC.
Police say that Flowers sent a text to a family member that said she was planning to leave her relationship with Plummer just before 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 5, according to the proffer Freeman read in court Friday.
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Minutes later, Plummer and Flowers’ upstairs neighbor said they heard multiple gunshots and a female voice crying and yelling for help. The neighbor called 911.
Police officers knocked on the door of the couple’s apartment but left after receiving no response.
Prosecutors said that earlier that day, Flowers and Plummer had a text conversation, where Plummer accused Flowers of stealing money from him. Her OEMC co-workers said she appeared upset while speaking on the phone about money.
Flowers’ body was discovered during a police wellness check the following day, unresponsive, soaked in blood and with multiple injuries. She was pronounced dead at the scene.
Chicago police recovered a black 9 mm semiautomatic handgun at the apartment in a pile of Plummer’s clothes.
Before her death, Flowers had told numerous family members and co-workers that Plummer was physically abusive toward her, Freeman said. Plummer has a history of violent charges in Cook County, including domestic battery and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, authorities said. During their time dating, Flowers’ friends and family received a video of Plummer striking Flowers, choking her and throwing her to the ground, prosecutors said.
According to Snohomish County court records, Plummer appeared before a Washington state judge Sept. 2 for a warrant identification hearing. Records show he signed a waiver of extradition the same day and was transported back to Illinois.
Plummer is scheduled to return to court on Oct. 17.