Champaign Police Reopen Cold Case

Champaign police say they've reopened a cold case now that they say they know who killed a man ten years ago. Police say they now have witness testimony linking Erick Johnson and Shance Dalton to the murder of 20-year-old Timothy Payton. He was shot and killed in an apartment on Beardsley Avenue back in 1997. Police are relieved they finally have information.. They can't say how they got it because the cases against the two men haven't yet been heard. One detective who was at the scene of the crime right after it happened says it is one less cold case in the back of his mind. Detective Dale Rawdlin says, "I called the mother she hadn't heard from me in 8 or 9 years, so you get a person on the phone and you're ready to give someone what you think is exciting information. She was very guarded. She kinda stored this away for ten years not knowing whether it'd be solved." Dalton and Johnson have been arraigned on the charges. They're both already in prison for unrelated drug charges. They'll be back in court in May.