East St. Louis man convicted of murder while alleged Belleville accomplice awaits hearing

The second of three men charged with a Washington County murder has been sentenced to decades in prison for the killing of an East St. Louis man.

Arrion T. Sanders, 46, of East St. Louis was sentenced last week to 30 years in prison after a jury found him guilty in June of first-degree murder in the death of 44-year-old Montez Pearson of East St. Louis, court records show.

Charging documents say Pearson suffered a shotgun blast to the head. His body was found west of Nashville in the area of ​​Lunte Creek Road on July 19, 2023, according to an Illinois State Police news release.

In addition to Sanders, two men from Belleville were also charged in the case.

Kevin Loucks, 45, was sentenced to 40 years in prison for first-degree murder in March, while a mental health hearing for 58-year-old Milton Robinson is scheduled for Oct. 1, court records show.

Sanders and Loucks were being held at the Menard Correctional Center on Friday, while Robinson was being held at the Washington County Jail in connection with his murder charge.