Blue Island man, son charged in murder plot

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A police officer investigates the scene of a murder July 12 at Dominican University in River Forest. Chevron Alexander, 29, was shot at 10 p.m. in a parking lot near the Dominican University Priory campus at Harlem and Division. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media

Updated: January 23, 2012 3:03AM

A Blue Island man, a former North Chicago police officer, conspired with his son and another man to kill his mistress in a River Forest parking lot Monday night, police said.

Devin A. Bickham, 39, 12849 Division St.; his son, also named Devin Bickham, 20, of the same address; and Cardell Taylor, 35, of the 9400 block of South Lowe Avenue in Chicago, are charged with first-degree murder in the shooting death of Chervon Alexander, of Chicago.

A bail hearing is scheduled for this morning.

“This was a cold, calculating act,” River Forest police Sgt. Mike Thornley said.

Bickham’s son and Taylor confessed to a plot to kill Alexander, 29, who was pressuring Bickham to divorce his wife and marry her, police said.

“Apparently, (Bickham) decided she was in the way,” River Forest Deputy Police Chief Craig Rutz said. “He wanted her out of his life.”

Bickham is a co-founder of the Chi-City Blitz, a semipro football team that plays in the Great Midwest Football League on Chicago’s South Side.

River Forest police sources said Bickham drove Alexander to a parking lot near Division Street and Harlem Avenue in River Forest about 10 p.m. Monday, telling her it was so they could talk.

A car driven by Bickham’s son pulled up and Taylor got out, walked over to Alexander and shot her three times ­in the head, chest and shoulder, according to police.

They said Bickham was the first person to call 911 after the shooting. When police arrived at the scene, a witness said the woman had been shot by a man who fled east on Division Street in a gray car.

Forest Park police spotted a similar car minutes later, pulled it over and arrested Bickham’s son and Taylor, police said. They said a .380-caliber handgun was recovered from the car.

Court records show that Bickham, who until recently delivered furniture, was under heavy financial pressure in recent months. On Friday, his Bick Express, which he incorporated in February 2007, was involuntarily dissolved by the Illinois secretary of state’s office.

He filed for bankruptcy for the second time in a year on March 17, according to court records. They indicate that Bickham’s first filing was dismissed March 15 after he reportedly failed to make required payments of $1,600 per month.

In the March 17 filing, which was approved June 27, Bickham lists liabilities totaling $76,544, including $6,666 owed the IRS and $36,292 in unsecured debt.

He declared personal property consisting of two cars valued at $31,100, on which he owes $33,580, records show.

He listed current monthly income of $2,714, with no cash on hand, and refers to his “ex-wife” and his marital status as “separated.” She is listed as both a creditor and co-debtor in the bankruptcy documents.

North Chicago police said Bickham worked for the department a short time more than a decade ago.