WEEK IN REVIEW: 16 more homicides, including woman crushed by SUV after fight over man on social media

By JEFF MAYES
Homicide Watch Chicago
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At least 16 more people died from violence last week in Chicago, including five on Sunday alone, but possibly the most shocking involved a social media dispute that got out of hand.

The victim, the daughter of a Chicago cop, had been feuding with another woman on social media, and that eventually led to a physical confrontation Friday night in the Morgan Park neighborhood.

But one of the women, who was the mother of the victim’s boyfriend’s child, did not let it go, according to Cook County prosecutors. She got into her SUV, pinned the woman against a tree, and then ran her over twice.

When it was over, 24-year-old Chynna Stapleton was charged with first-degree murder for the death of 18-year-old Tatyanna Lewis, who was struck by the vehicle just after 11 p.m. in the 11400 block of South May, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Lewis was the daughter of a Chicago Police officer.

Stapleton drove up onto the sidewalk to ram Lewis into a tree, then backed up and ran her over at least two more times, prosecutors said. Lewis was pronounced dead at the scene of multiple blunt force injuries.

Stapleton drove off afterward, striking multiple vehicles before being taken into custody. She was ordered held without bond on Monday, though family members claimed the incident was self-defense.

In other homicides last week:

  • An 18-year-old man died after he was shot Sunday afternoon in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. At 2:43 p.m., Jamari Richmond was playing basketball in front of his house when someone fired at him from the first of two vehicles that were driving north in the 7300 block of South Union, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Richmond, who would have graduated from high school in avbout three weeks, suffered a gunshot wound to his head, and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead ab out 2 1/2 hours later.
  • A man was shot to death less than an hour earlier in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side. Just after 2 p.m., Devonta Brownlee, 19, was driving in the 10600 block of South Parnell when two vehicles began following him, police and the medical examiner’s office said. People inside the other vehicles began shooting, and Brownlee was struck in his neck. He crashed into multiple parked vehicles before coming to a stop, and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
  • A man was shot to death two hours before that in the West Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side. At 12:13 p.m., witnesses heard gunshots and found Warren Delton, 44, lying on the sidewalk in the 6100 block of South Eberhart. He had been shot multiple times in the head, and was pronounced dead at the scene, police and medical examiner’s office said.

  • Two more men were killed in a shooting early Sunday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Breyon K. Cowans, 24; and DeShawn Johnson, 23, were stopped at a traffic light about 2:35 a.m. while driving south on Cicero at Madison. A black Chevrolet pulled up and someone inside opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The men then turned west on Madison and their vehicle struck a disabled person in a wheelchair, police said.

    Cowans, of West Garfield Park, suffered gunshot wounds to the back and right arm, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead minutes later. Johnson was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead at 4 a.m., authorities said. He lived in west suburban Broadview. The man in the wheelchair suffered injuries that were not thought to be life-threatening, police said.

  • A 17-year-old high school basketball player was shot to death Saturday night in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side. Donnell Hudson was in the 10500 block of South Lafayette Avenue at 8:36 p.m. when a man walked up and began shooting, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Hudson was shot in his back and chest, and was pronounced dead at the scene. He lived in the same neighborhood. He was a standout player for Chicago Military Academy-Bronzeville, according to his coach.
  • A man was fatally shot early Friday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 2:52 a.m. in the 100 block of North California found Zieyeal Easterling, 32, slumped inside a vehicle in the 100 block of North California, authorities said. The aspiring rapper, who lived in the neighborhood, had suffered three gunshot wounds to the head, and more to the back. He was dead at the scene, police said.
  • A man was slain in a Fernwood neighborhood drive-by shooting late. About 11:45 p.m., 41-year-old Jerry Austin was standing on a sidewalk in the 10100 block of South LaSalle when someone in a vehicle shot him in the chest and hand, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. Austin lived in the Far South Side Riverdale neighborhood.
  • A 29-year-old man was shot to death Thursday afternoon in the West Side Austin neighborhood. About 5:20 p.m., Terrance Bingham was in the 1100 block of North Long when he was shot multiple times on the left side of his body, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Bingham was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where he died minutes later.
  • A 22-year-old man died Wednesday, almost four months after he was shot in East Garfield Park. Just after 8 p.m. Jan. 21, Mack McClinton and a 17-year-old boy were walking out of an alley in the 300 block of South California when someone shot them from a dark-colored vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

    McClinton was shot in the neck, and the boy was shot in the back, authorities said. Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where McClinton, who lived a block away from the shooting site, was pronounced dead at 10:06 p.m. Wednesday, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy Thursday found he died of complications from the gunshot wound, and his death was ruled a homicide.

  • A man was shot and killed Wednesday afternoon in the Lawndale neighborhood on the Southwest Side. At 2:47 p.m., 19-year-old Jacobie Lee James was in the 3800 block of West Ogden when a black vehicle pulled up, and two people got out from the back and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Jacobie was shot in the head and chest, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead minutes later. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting.
  • A 30-year-old man was fatally shot Wednesday morning in the North Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. At 8:52 a.m., Derrick Nelson was standing at the corner of 13th and Independence when a male suspect walked up and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office He was shot once in the head, once in each arm, and multiple times in the body, police said. Nelson was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died about 30 minutes later.
  • A man was shot to death late Tuesday in the Calumet Heights neighborhood on the South Side. Officers responded to a call of shots fired about 10:15 p.m. and found 31-year-old Jesse Woods III lying on the sidewalk in the 9200 block of South Chappel, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Woods had been shot in the back and head, and was pronounced dead at the scene.
  • A 17-year-old boy was killed and a 22-year-old man wounded in a shooting Tuesday afternoon in the South Deering neighborhood on the Far South Side. They were walking west on 95th Street at 12:21 p.m. when two masked males got out of a black SUV heading south on Yates Avenue and opened fire, according to police. The shooters got back in the SUV and headed east on 95th.

    Kaveon D. Anthoni Walton, who lived a few blocks away, was shot multiple times in the chest, leg and arm, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Christ Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead an hour later. The 22-year-old was also shot repeatedly, and taken in critical condition at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

  • A 23-year-old man was fatally shot Monday night in the South Side Washington Park neighborhood. Jermaine Brown was approached by someone in the 5400 block of South Indiana at 7:42 p.m. and that person opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Brown, who lived in the neighborhood, was shot multiple times and died at the scene.
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