Vaughn Holeman / Photo from Facebook
BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago
Morgan Park High School football player Demarco Washington, 15, was denied bond Tuesday for allegedly fatally shooting 15-year-old friend Vaughn Holeman on Mother’s Day in the West Pullman community.
Demarco and Vaughn were standing together near the corner of West 116th Street and South Princeton Avenue Sunday afternoon when a white car drove past about 3:40 p.m. Sunday, Assistant State’s Attorney Alexandra Molesky said.
Vaughn began arguing with the car’s occupants while motioning for Demarco, Molesky said. Demarco ran up to the vehicle, pulled a gun from his pocket and fired several shots in the direction of the car.
At least one bullet struck Vaughn, and he collapsed while trying to run, Molesky said. Witnesses reported no shots fired from the white car, Molesky said.
Tiffany Woodley, a neighborhood mom whose children attended Haley Elementary Academy with Vaughn, said she was sitting on her porch when she saw a white car drive past her house.
When Vaughn fell, Woodley ran to the corner as other children gathered around, held him in her arms and applied pressure to his wounds to try and stop the bleeding, she said.
Vaughn, of the 400 block of West 115th Street, was shot in the chest and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn less than an hour later, authorities said.
“It’s just really sad that this situation was allowed to grow to this level. It’s like what is there to do to stop this? What is the answer?” Woodley said.
Police arrested Demarco about a block away and found eight bullets in his shoe. He was charged with first-degree murder, aggravated discharge of a firearm and possession of ammunition without a valid FOID card.
Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said to Demarco, “You have no judgment” then ordered him held without bond Tuesday afternoon.
Demarco is a freshman at Morgan Park High School, where he is on the football team, his public defender said. He has lived his entire life in Chicago and is a member of the Fellowship Missionary Baptist Church.
He had two previous juvenile felony adjudications and an unsatisfactory probation, according to court records.
Demarco is next scheduled to appear in court June 2.