Burkes Enters a Plea of Not Guilty in the Alleged Murder of Courtney Drysdale

An arraignment was held this morning in Kankakee County Court for the man accused of the February second shooting death of 30-year-old Momence bar owner Courtney Drysdale. 47-year-old Julius E Burkes Junior was officially charged this morning with five felony counts including three murder counts, one count of armed robbery and one count of being a felon in possession of a firearm. Burkes pled “not guilty” today in court and through his attorney Jamie Boyd asked for a speedy trial. Burkes allegedly entered the Line Bar just after 11 o’clock on the morning of February second as Drysdale was getting the bar ready to open for the day. He allegedly demanded the cash from the register and shot her “execution style” even though Drysdale complied and turned over the cash. Burkes will be back in court tomorrow morning for setting of a potential court date.