Homicide Watch Chicago

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 19 people were victims of violence in Chicago last week, and while there were fewer homicides in July that in June, according to Chicago Police statistics, the city is still a large in increase over last year.

There were 65 homicides in Chicago in July, according to police. There were 71 homicides in June and 66 in May.

That brings the year’s total to 381 homicides as of July 31, up about 44 percent from last year, when the city had 264 murders through July 31.

Police said 2,394 people have been shot in the city so far in 2016, including 441 in July. In the same time period last year, 1,564 people had been shot.

July was capped by a bloody weekend that saw 51 people shot, seven of them fatally.

• In the week’s final homicide, Jeffery Arnold Jr. was shot to death Sunday evening in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. The 20-year-old was standing in the 3000 block of West Fifth Avenue at 5:28 p.m. when three males got out of an SUV and began shooting, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Arnold was shot in the head, and died at Mount Sinai Hospital.
  Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

The year is just past the halfway point, and if the number of homicides in Chicago continues at the current pace, it will reach a total not seen in 25 years. At least 12 more people were killed in Chicago last week, brining the total to more than 375 for the year.

Unofficially, there have been 378 homicides in the city, according to statistics compiled by the Chicago Sun-Times Wire. If that pace continues, the year’s total could top 700 for the first time since the mid-1990s.

Last week was capped by a weekend in which more than 40 people were shot, five of them fatally.

• The week’s final homicide was a 19-year-old man shot to death in the Brighton Park neighborhood Sunday afternoon. It happened about 3:30 p.m. in the 3900 block of South Kedzie. Gregory Chacon suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and arm, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

  An uncooperative witness told investigators a newer-model black vehicle approached Chacon and someone inside fired numerous shots, police said. The vehicle then took off northbound after the shooting.

• A 20-year-old man was shot to death early Sunday while driving in the West Elsdon neighborhood. About 2:10 a.m., Jesus Martinez Jr. was at the wheel of a vehicle going west on 55th Street when a black car pulled alongside at a stop sign at Kostner Avenue, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.
  Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

While protesters continued to march across the city last week in response to the killings of black men by police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota, at least 17 people died as there was no let-up in the violence in Chicago.

The bloody week was capped by a violent weekend during which 59 people were shot, seven of them fatally. Sunday alone saw 33 people shot, five of them fatally, marking the single bloodiest day in Chicago since July 5, 2015, when 34 people were shot.

• One man was killed and another injured in a shooting Sunday night in the Austin neighborhood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired about 7:40 p.m. in the 500 block of North Lavergne found the men, both 20, with gunshot wounds inside an SUV about four blocks south, in the 100 block of North Lavergne, according to Chicago Police. Police said the driver of the SUV appeared to have run away.

  Carlos Harding, of the 4900 block of West Superior, was shot in the head and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The other man was also taken to Stroger with a gunshot wound to the leg, police said. His condition was stabilized.
  Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

While the public’s attention was drawn to fatal police shootings in Minnesota and Louisiana, and the killing of five police officers in Dallas last week, at least 12 people died in violence in Chicago, a number that could rise.

Police shootings in Baton Rouge and a Minneapolis suburb led to nationwide protests, including a rally in Dallas that turned fatal when a sniper opened fire, killing five officers, and wounding seven officers and two civilians.

There were a series of protests across Chicago following the incidents, but that didn’t stop the violence in the city.

A man was shot and killed Sunday evening in the West Pullman neighborhood. The 33-year-old was standing on the street about 10:15 p.m. in the 11500 block of South Perry when two males walked up and fired multiple shots, Chicago Police said.

He was shot in the back and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was later pronounced dead, police said. The shooters ran away and no suspects were in custody early Monday. The victim’s name had not been released as of late Monday afternoon.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES and ANDY GRIMM
Chicago Sun-Times

After closing the books on another bloody month, Chicago Police went all out to try to reverse the recent trend of violent holiday weekends. Results were mixed at best.

Prior to the Fourth of July weekend, police closed the books on yet another month of disheartening crime statistics. Ugly trends continued with 72 murders during the month. The six-month tally of 315 killings as of June 30 was 49 percent higher than the first half of 2015 and puts the city on pace for 700 killings for the year.

The increased violence comes in a year that has featured unusually warm weather—a factor in urban violence—and diminished police morale and public trust as the city grapples with the fallout of protests over police brutality.

In a statement issued ahead of the official release of the June crime stats, Supt. Eddie Johnson called the level of violence in the city “unacceptable” and largely attributable to “repeat offenders with ties to gangs” and illegal guns.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 14 people died from violence in Chicago last week, including a woman who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend on a crowded CTA train on the South Side, and the weekend was especially deadly, with seven fatal shootings reported between Friday night and Sunday.

The deadly week brought the Chicago murder total to at least 312 for the year, according to unofficial statistics compiled by the Chicago Sun-Times Wire.

The most shocking crime of the week came as a man and woman were arguing on a crowded CTA Red Line train Thursday afternoon and the man suddenly stabbed his ex-girlfriend repeatedly, killing her, police said. Jessica Renee Hampton, 25, was stabbed multiple times on a southbound train near the 47th Street station in Greater Grand Crossing at 12:33 p.m., authorities said. Hampton, who lived in the 6600 block of South Laflin, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy showed she died of a stab wound to the neck.

Passengers on the train called 911 to report the stabbing, and an officer was already near the 47th Street Red Line stop as the train pulled up, police said. The suspect stepped off the train, saw the officer and surrendered. On Saturday, bond was denied for 29-year-old Arthur S. Jones, who is charged with first-degree murder for the attack.

• The week’s final homicide victim was a 67-year-old man who died Sunday night, after he and two other men were shot Saturday evening in the Englewood neighborhood. The group was congregating on a corner in the 700 block of West 66th Street about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when someone came out of an alley, fired shots and ran off northbound, according to police.

  Lonnie King, 67, was shot in the back and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 9:43 p.m. Sunday, according to authorities. A 50-year-old man was also taken to Stroger Hospital with two gunshot wounds to the buttocks and his condition was stabilized. A 30-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the left hand and took himself to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, where he was in good condition, police said.

• Early Sunday, a man was shot to death in the Austin neighborhood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 5:08 a.m. in the 900 block of North Massasoit found 41-year-old Frederick Johnson in the driver seat of a car with two gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was dead at the scene.
  Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 23 people died from gunshot wounds in Chicago last week, including a popular Mexican singer who had moved to the city just three years ago, a young man gunned down a block from his home in front of a church where Mass was being conducted; and a man who seemed to have posted a video of his murder to Facebook as it happened.

The week’s last homicide was a 21-year-old man was shot to death on Lake Shore Drive late Sunday, according to Chicago Police. He was in a vehicle in the 600 block of South Lake Shore Drive when shots rang out and he was struck in the lower back.

He was driven to the first block of East 35th Street, where he was abandoned, police said. Officers responding to that block about 10:40 p.m. found him lying on the ground. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he later died. His name had not been released as of Monday afternoon.

Another 21-year-old man took himself to an Englewood hospital after being shot on the South Side Sunday evening, but died before he was able to tell anyone where the crime occurred.

Otis Richmond showed up at St. Bernard Hospital at 326 W. 64th St. at 6:50 p.m. and was pronounced dead at 7:08 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Police said he was shot in the abdomen, but did not know when or where the shooting occurred.

Earlier Sunday, police said a high-powered assault rifle was used to gun down a 22-year-old man outside a Catholic Church that was holding Mass at the time.
Salvador Suarez was walking near 46th and Hermitage when a light-colored vehicle drove up and an individual started firing shots from inside the car, police said. The shooting happened about 1:30 p.m outside Holy Cross Church. Suarez tried to run, but was hit multiple times with gunfire, and pronounced dead at the scene, police said.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 12 people were killed in violence last week in Chicago and the death toll included a 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds, and two men who hours earlier had been to the funeral of another gunshot victim.

After spending the day at the funeral of a friend who was shot to death last week, Antwon Brooks and Javil Nunn were themselves shot to death early Sunday on a porch in the Brainerd neighborhood.

Police were responded at 1:13 a.m. to a call of shots fired in the 9000 block of South Marshfield and found the men unresponsive, according to Chicago Police.

Brooks, 42; and Nunn, 33, were both pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. AUtopsies showed both men died of multiple gunshot wounds.

Both victims had attended the funeral of Anreco D. Nichols, who was shot to death just a week earlier in Chatham.

A few hours later, the body of 32-year-old Dwayne T. Triplett was found slumped over the wheel of his car in Englewood. About 8:35 a.m., an officer on patrol found Triplett dead of a gunshot wound near his home in the 1100 block of West 72nd Street, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He had been shot in the head and chest.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

It was another violent week in Chicago, with at least 16 people killed by gunfire, a 2-month-old boy dying from child abuse, a man suffereing fatal injured from an explosion in his garage, and woman killed in a hit-and-run crash that also injured her husband.

The week’s latest homicide was a 43-year-old man found shot to death Sunday night in the West Chatham neighborhood and an autopsy ruled his death a homicide. Officers performing a well-being check about 11:30 p.m. found Anreco D. Nichols unresponsive in his home in the 8100 block of South Harvard, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nichols suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:41 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

A 33-year-old man has been charged with reckless homicide for a hit-and-run crash that left 57-year-old Carmen Maria Vanegas dead and her husband seriously injured Sunday morning in Avondale. Jason Missak was also charged with two counts of leaving the scene of an accident involving injury or death, all felonies, according to police.

Missak was driving a white Jaguar with Illinois plates “DO R DI” in the 3200 block of Belmont Avenue about 7 a.m. Sunday when he ran a red light at Kedzie Avenue, police said. The Jaguar hit a Chevrolet that was northbound on Kedzie, sending it spinning into two other cars in oncoming traffic, police said.
Read more

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least nine people were killed in violecne last week in Chicago, including four in the first three days of a violent Memorial Day weekend, which saw nearly 70 people shot across the city.

Garvin Whitmore was shot to death Saturday evening in the Fuller Park neighborhood. The 27-year-old was sitting in a vehicle with his fiancee about 5:20 p.m. in the 200 block of West Root when someone walked up and shot him in the head, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The woman then got out and fired shots as the shooter ran away, police said. No one else was injured.

Whitmore, of the 5800 block of West 63rd Place, was pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner’s office said.

His fiancee, 26-year-old Ashley Harrison of Aurora, was charged with reckless discharge of a firearm, and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon without an FOID card, according to police. She was ordered held on a $250,000 bond.

No one is in custody for the murder.

A 23-year-old man was shot to death in the Portage Park neighborhood on the Northwest Side on Saturday morning. Damien Cionzynski got into a fight with two other males inside a business about 5:15 a.m. in the 6300 block of West Montrose, police and the medical examiner’s office said.
Read more