Homicide Watch Chicago

By JEFF MAYES
Homicide Watch Chicago

Sun-Times file photo by Ashlee Rezin

The only thing they had in common? They were among 23 people killed in Chicago last week, one of the more violent weeks of the year as the city surpassed last year’s homicide total and neared the 400 mark for the year (385 as July 21, compared to 369 a year ago).

The youngest victim was a 10-year-old boy killed in a shooting that also left a man critically wounded Friday evening in East Side, Gustavo Garcia was in an SUV with his stepfather and a 31-year-old man at 11:13 p.m., traveling west in the 3500 block of East 97th Street, Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.

A gray car pulled up next to them and someone inside fired shots. Gustavo was shot in the back and was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where he died, authorities said. He lived in the South Chicago neighborhood. The man was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was in critical condition, according to police. He was shot in the back, face and chest.

The oldest victim was 60-year-old retired Marine shot to death during an attempted robbery Saturday morning in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side. Robert Sharpe was walking to the bus on the way to a dialysis treatment at 4:55 a.m. in the 3200 block of West Franklin when an armed male confronted him and demanded his money, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

When Sharpe refused to turn over his wallet, the suspect shot him in the left shoulder before running away east on Franklin, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Sharpe was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 5:43 a.m. The robbery netted abut $8 and a credit card.

The rapper, and the first person killed during the week, was Cedron Doles, better known as drill rapper Shoota Shellz, who was gunned down while getting into his car Monday morning in the South Side Auburn Gresham neighborhood.

The 21-year-old Doles was approaching his vehicle at 9:32 a.m. in the 8100 block of South Paulina, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Three men with guns got out of a white vehicle and fired several rounds, striking Doles multiple times, authorities said. Doles, who lived in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Also killed was 58-year-old community activist Willaim “Willie” Cooper. The nam called the mayor of 95th Street was outside about 4:15 p.m. Saturday near the non-profit he ranin the Far South Side Princeton Park neighborhood.

A vehicle pulled up to him in the 100 block of West 95th Street and someone inside fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Cooper, who lived in the Fernwood neighborhood, was shot in his mouth and torso, and pronounced dead at the scene.

In other homicides last week:

• A 23-year-old man was killed in a shooting Sunday morning in South Shore. Two males approached and shot Rashaad H. Crawford while he was sitting in a parked vehicle at 3:17 a.m. in the 2100 block of East 71st Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Crawford was shot in the chest and left arm, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where died at 4:02 a.m. He lived in the Back of the Yards.
• A man was killed and another wounded in a shooting early Sunday in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. A male approached and shot the men at 1:06 a.m. while they were standing on the sidewalk in the 3900 block of West Arthington, according to police. They were both taken to Stroger Hospital. Michael Ferguson, 31, was shot in the neck and died at 1:45 a.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the Austin neighborhood. The other man, 32, was shot in the right leg. His condition had stabilized at Stroger.
• A 15-year-old boy was killed in a shooting Sunday morning in Humboldt Park. At 12:17 a.m., Alex Gonzales was a passenger in a vehicle heading north in the 1000 block of North Sacramento when someone fired shots from a black sedan, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was struck multiple times in the back of his head. Gonzales, who lived in southwest suburban Bolingbrook, was taken to Norwegian American Hospital and then transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 9:40 p.m., authorities said.
• A 20-year-old man was shot to death early Saturday in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Christopher James Edward Johnson Jr., 20, was found by officers responding to a call of a person shot about 4:15 a.m. in the 4400 block of West Monroe, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Johnson, who lived on the same block, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
• A man was killed and another wounded in a drive-by shooting late Friday in East Side. The two men, ages 49 and 54, were getting out of a vehicle at 10:43 p.m. in the 10600 block of South Green Bay Avenue when someone shot at them from a white SUV, according to police. The younger man, identified as Michael Whitford, was shot in the back and died at 11:35 p.m. at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. He lived on the same block where the shooting happened. The older man was shot in the face and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
• A 26-year-old man was shot to death Friday night in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. David Marin was standing on the sidewalk about 10:20 p.m. in the 4600 block of South Washtenaw when someone inside a silver SUV fired at him, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Marin, who lived in the Marquette Park neighborhood, was struck multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
• One man was killed and two others wounded in a shooting Friday evening on the South Side. The shooting happened about 6:05 p.m. in the first block of West Pershing, near the former site of the Stateway Gardens public housing buildings, according to police. All three were taken to Stroger Hospital, police said. Maurice Hunter, 21, was shot in the abdomen and shoulder, and was pronounced dead at 9:24 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the Chatham neighborhood. A 19-year-old man’s condition was stabilized after he was shot in the head and hand; and a 22-year-old man was in serious condition with a gunshot wound to his back, police said.
• A 17-year-old boy was killed in a shooting Friday evening in West Garfield Park. Cercy Robinson was walking through a vacant lot just after 6 p.m. in the 4500 block of West Jackson when shots were fired, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Robinson, who lived about four blocks away, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 7:44 p.m.
• A man was found shot to death Friday afternoon in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side. Dante T. Neely was found unresponsive with gunshot wounds to the forehead and chin about 4:45 p.m. in the 8300 block of South Hamilton, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Neely, who lived in the neighborhood, was dead at the scene. An autopsy Saturday found that he died from multiple gunshot wounds.
• A man was discovered shot to death early Friday in the South Side Chatham neighborhood. Officers found 25-year-old Gregory Williams Jr. with a gunshot wound to the head about 2:45 a.m. inside a vehicle double parked in the 8000 block of South Vernon, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Williams was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
• A 27-year-old man was shot to death early Friday in the Fernwood neighborhood on the Far South Side. Witnesses in a passing vehicle found Vincent Hubbard lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the chest about 12:15 a.m. in the 10000 block of South Parnell, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. They drove Hubbard, who lived in the Longwood Manor neighborhood, to Roseland Community Hospital, where he died.
• A man was shot to death in the Princeton Park neighborhood late Thursday. At 11:50 p.m., officers responding to a shooting found 29-year-old Dautreau P. Bates with a head wound, lying in the street next to a vehicle in the 200 block of West 95th Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Bates was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died. He lived in the same neighborhood.
• A 24-year-old man was shot to death Thursday night in the Wrightwood neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Terbord Williams was standing on the sidewalk about 7:45 p.m. when someone in a vehicle fired shots at him in the 2600 block of West 83rd Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Williams, who lived two blocks away, was shot in his upper torso and pronounced dead at the scene.
• A man was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood. About 12:20 p.m., Derrick Murray, 29, was in the 4600 block of West Augusta when someone walked up and fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Murray was shot multiple times in his upper body, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He lived in Lawndale.
• A 28-year-old West Side man was shot to death early Thursday in Lawndale. Laquante M. Smith was standing outside about 12:20 a.m. in the 3100 block of West Lexington when shots rang out and he was struck multiple times in the lower extremities, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Smith was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.
• A man was stabbed to death Wednesday night in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood. Alejandro Montalvo, 32, was stabbed in the neck shortly after 8 p.m. during a fight inside an apartment in the 1400 block of North Kildare, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Montalvo was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:26 p.m., authorities said. He lived in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side.

  A day later, Montalvo’s brother, 28-year-old Tyrone Montalvo, was charged with the murder. Prosecutors said the men got into an argument while drinking. Tyrone Montalvo was critical of his brother’s parenting skills and told him he needed to spend more time with them. The argument turned into a fight, which ended in a stabbing, prosecutors said. Tyrone Montalvo is being held on a $1 million bond.

• A Cicero man was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in North Lawndale. The shooting happened at 12:52 p.m. in the 3100 block of West Fillmore, according to police. Robert Warren, 25, was shot multiple times, including at least once in the head, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.
• A woman was shot to death while she was sleeping in her home early Tuesday in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side. Someone fired shots into a home at 5:26 a.m. in the 5200 block of South King Drive, where 40-year-old Rhonda Hughes was sleeping, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Hughes suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead. The shooter fired directly into the home, and it was not known whether the woman was the intended target, police said.
• A man waiting for a ride on a Pace paratransit van was shot to death during an attempted robbery early Tuesday in the Avalon Park neighborhood on the South Side. Norman W. White, 50, was standing in the lot of a gas station at 3:17 a.m. in the 8300 block of South Stony Island. He was talking to the driver of the Pace minivan, when another male walked up, forced him into the van at gunpoint, and tried to take his cell phone, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The suspect then fired shots, striking White in the right arm, chest and back. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Pace said there were no other passengers on board at the time of the shooting.
• A woman was shot to death Monday afternoon in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side. Shaundel Wimberly, 27, was a passenger in a dark-colored vehicle at 4:39 p.m. in the 1300 block of East 78th Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. A man who was also inside the vehicle fired shots, hitting Wimberly, who got out of the vehicle and tried to run away, authorities said. But the man also got out and shot her several more times before getting back in and driving away. Wimberly suffered gunshot wounds to the head and face, and was taken to Jackson Park Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.