Joseph Hill / Photo from Chicago Police
BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor
Joseph Hill was ordered held without bond Friday after prosecutors said he fatally shot Devante Warnsby Wednesday morning in the South Chicago neighborhood.
Warnsby, his two adopted brothers and a friend were walking near East 84th Street and South Essex Avenue when a gray Mitsubishi with tinted windows pulled up about 11 a.m. Wednesday, Assistant State’s Attorney Jennifer Cooper said.
Hill got out of the car and asked the group if anybody had marijuana, Cooper said. When the group replied that they did not, Hill pulled a gun from his waistband and opened fire, she said.
The group attempted to flee into an alley, but Warnsby was shot in the back of the head, Cooper said.
Warnsby, 21, of the 8400 block of South Oglesby Avenue, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn later that night, authorities said.
The other three men were not injured and gave police a description of the vehicle, which sped off after the shooting, Cooper said.
Detectives reviewed recent traffic stops and found a car matching the description, including one from after the shooting, Cooper said.
The witnesses identified the car and shooter in a photo array, and Hill was arrested Thursday, Cooper said.
Hill, 19, was charged with first-degree murder and three counts of attempted murder.
Hill is currently on bond awaiting trail for an unrelated aggravated unlawful use of a weapon charge, Cooper said. Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered him held without bond on that charge.
Hill is a student at Bowen High School, where he is scheduled to graduate this spring, according to his lawyer. Hill currently works at a Popeye’s Chicken & Biscuits and hopes to attend college.
Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil called Hill “a danger to himself and society” and ordered him held without bond.
He will be back in court April 30.