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An alleged high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples street gang was fatally shot at the home of a former Bradley basketball star Friday.
Robert "Butch" Walker, 25, was found at about 5:45 p.m. outside the home of Dion Thurman, 1508 W. Smith, bleeding from the head. Sources told the Journal Star that Walker was a high-ranking member of the Gangster Disciples in Peoria and was believed to be the gang's longtime "chief of security" for the city.
In that position, he would be responsible for the gang's drugs and weapons caches, discipline of GD members and retribution against rival gang members or independent cocaine dealers.
Thurman, originally from Stockton, Calif., was arrested and indicted in 1989 on charges of possession of cocaine.
At the time, he was no longer a student, having been dismissed from the university for academic problems during the summer of 1989. He subsequently was reinstated in September 1990 on academic probation, but never rejoined the team.
A transfer from Southeastern Community College in Burlington, Iowa, he received the Missouri Valley Conference Newcomer of the Year award as a junior. At the time, he was the league's leading scorer and eighth in rebounding.