Life in prison for 7-time felon who killed store clerk during North Side liquor store robbery

A seven-time convicted felon who killed a convenience store worker during an attempted robbery in West Rogers Park three years ago has been sentenced to life in prison.

Cook County Judge Stanley Sacks handed down the punishment Friday for 56-year-old Sean Dunnavant, who was convicted by a jury in May of three counts of murder and one count of attempted armed robbery in the October 2022 killing of 66-year-old Salim Khamo.

Prosecutors said surveillance video showed Dunnavant riding his bicycle to J&K Food and Liquors, 6320 North Western Avenue, around 9:53 p.m. on October 17, 2022. Inside, he placed a handgun on the counter and pointed it toward Khamo, who had recently sold the business to a relative and was preparing to retire.

As Khamo, a licensed concealed carry holder, stepped back and reached for his own gun, Dunnavant fired a single shot that struck him in the chest, prosecutors said. Khamo was pronounced dead at the scene.

Sean Dunnavant and a surveillance image of the murderer. (Chicago Police Department)

During Dunnavant’s initial court hearing in 2022, Assistant State’s Attorney Christopher Nugarus described how investigators identified him after he dropped his phone while fleeing the store. The device, found next to a bicycle with distinctive rust marks and a headlight bearing a visible serial number, contained selfies of Dunnavant, photos of his Social Security card and Texas truck driving license, and pictures of a gun resembling the one used in the robbery.

“I didn’t do that! I didn’t do that!” Dunnavant shouted as Nugarus outlined the evidence during an initial court hearing. Moments later, he blurted out, “I lost my cellphone,” before his defense attorney urged him to remain silent.

When police arrested Dunnavant, they asked for his phone number. He gave them the number of the same device recovered at the murder scene, prosecutors said.

Dunnavant lived about a block from the store, according to authorities. While the investigation was underway, Chicago police released surveillance footage of the gunman shortly after the killing and appealed to the public for help identifying him.

Court records show Dunnavant’s criminal history stretches across two decades. He was convicted of unauthorized use of a vehicle in Texas in 2018 and of three robberies in Kane and DuPage counties in 2008. His other felony convictions include possession of stolen motor vehicles in 2006 and 2008, as well as aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in 2006.

Dunnavant has two grown children, served in the Navy during the first Gulf War, and had worked eleven years as a truck driver before the murder, one of his defense attorneys claimed.