Tyree Brannon / Photo from Cook County Sheriff’s office
BY CHASE DIFELICIANTONIO
Homicide Watch Chicago
Tyree Brannon allegedly buried his gun in the snow after fatally shooting Deonte Womack on a South Shore street last December, prosecutors said.
On Friday, Brannon was ordered held without bond for the alleged murder.
The 17-year-old and an accomplice approached Womack and his acquaintance at 12:18 p.m. Dec. 10 in the 1700 block of South Paxton Avenue and demanded Womack’s property at gunpoint, assistant state’s attorney Jaime Santini said.
Both men knew Brannon by name, and Womack refused to hand over his belongings and walked away, Santini said. Brannon then allegedly shot Womack, 21, in the head and jaw and his 22-year-old acquaintance in the hand, leg and shoulder.
Police found a gun in Womack’s waistband and learned his acquaintance was also carrying a gun, but threw it to the ground after being shot, Santini said. Both guns were recovered by police.
Womack, of the 6900 block of South Paxton Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
The other man was also taken to Northwestern Hospital, where he underwent numerous surgeries, authorities said.
After the shooting, Brannon fled and a witness saw him bury the murder weapon in the snow, Santini said. Police later recovered the gun.
The U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Task Force arrested Brannon Thursday and the survivor positively identified him as the shooter in a physical lineup, authorities said. Brannon gave a recorded statement to police admitting to the shooting, Santini said.
Brannon’s accomplice has not been captured, authorities said.
Brannon was charged as an adult with one count each of first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm, according to the state’s attorney’s office.
Brannon appeared before Judge Israel Desierto Friday dressed in a dark blue Juvenile Temporary Detention Center sweatshirt, gray pants and white shoes. He was ordered held without bond and will be back in court March 7.
Brannon has juvenile convictions for robbery, possession of a controlled substance, battery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, Santini said.
Caroline Glennon, an assistant public defender representing Brannon, said the teen lives with his mother and siblings. He was a student at Winnie Mandela Intergenerational High School and has “significant ties to the Chicagoland area.”
Glennon noted that both Womack and his acquaintance were carrying guns at the time of the shooting.