By JEFFMAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
At least 14 people were killed in violence in Chicago last week, including two women, one of whom was fatally stabbed by her ex-boyfriend in a murder-suicide, and the other who was an innocent bystander caught in gang crossfire.
The deadly week brought the homicide total for Chicago to more than 580 so far this year, according to unoffical totals from the Chicago Sun-Times Wire. Last year there were about 430 homicides through this point in the year.
One of the week’s most shocking killings was the death of 21-year-old Adrianna Mayes, killed when caught in an exchange of gunfire while standing outside her home with her 14-month-old daughter in her arms in Roseland. They were struck when two groups of males exchanged gunfire about 2 p.m. at 106th and State, according to Chicago Police.
Mayes was shot in her left side and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Mayes, not believed to be a target of the shooting, lived on the same block where she was shot.
A 22-year-old man was also shot, police said. He took himself to Roseland Community Hospital with a gunshot wound to the left hand, and was listed in good condition. The baby was not injured.
Another woman was killed when her 35-year-old ex-boyfriend fatally stabbed her before jumping to his death Friday evening in the Prairie Shores neighborhood on the South Side. About 7 p.m., Rodney Alan Harvey Jr. confronted Julia Martin, 28, when she returned to her home in the 3000 block of South King Drive. Read more
Aaron M. Smith was shot to death Wednesday night in the South Shore neighborhood.
Smith, 36, was standing on the street at 11:10 p.m. in the 7400 block of South Chappel when he heard shots and realized he’d been struck, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He suffered gunshot wounds to the chest and groin, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:56 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found the cause of death to be multiple gunshot wounds.
Smith lived in the 7400 block of South Shore Drive.
Maurice L. Hilliard was killed and another man was wounded in an Englewood neighborhood shooting as they sat in a car Monday afternoon.
The two were inside a car about 3:30 p.m. in the 7000 block of South Sangamon when another vehicle drove by and someone inside opened fire, according to Chicago Police.
Hilliard, 25, was taken to St. Bernard Hospital and later transferred to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 6:01 p.m. of a gunshot wound to the neck, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 4700 block of South Sangamon.
The other man, 20, was in good condition at St. Bernard with an arm wound.
No one was in custody for the shooting as Area South detectives investigate.
Lyndell Hodges was killed and another man was wounded in a drive-by shooting early Tuesday in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.
Hodges, 24, and a 36-year-old man were in a vehicle at 12:06 a.m., traveling in the 1800 block of North Laramie when someone in another vehicle fired shots at them, according to Chicago Police. The victims’ vehicle then struck a building.
Hodges was shot in the left side of his buttocks and left hand, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:07 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office and police. He lived in the 1300 block of North Waller.
The older man suffered a graze wound to the head, and was taken to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park, where his condition was stabilized, according to police.
Carlos Ocampo was shot to death Tuesday evening, about three blocks from his home in the Northwest Side Belmont Gardens neighborhood.
At 6:09 p.m., the 20-year-old was outside in the 2500 block of North Kostner when someone got out of a parked vehicle and opened fire before running away, according to Chicago Police.
Ocampo was shot in the torso and was pronounced dead at the scene at 6:23 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 4700 block of West Parker.
Charges were upgraded against a South Side man a few months after Corey Strothers Jr., the teenage boy he’s accused of shooting in Englewood, died.
Strothers was only 15 in December 2015 when Swonn Herron put a bullet in his neck in the 5900 block of South Princeton Avenue, Cook County prosecutors said in court Tuesday.
The boy, who had since turned 16, died on Aug. 26 from complications related to that injury, Assistant State’s Attorney Holly Grosshans said.
Herron, now 23, was initially charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm after two witnesses identified him as the shooter, Grosshans said. He was ordered held on a $750,000 bond in early January.
Now that Strothers is dead, Herron, a reputed member of the Black P-Stones, is facing first-degree murder charges. Read more
Raheem Dismukes was killed and another man was wounded when they were shot while riding in a vehicle in the Austin neighborhood Sunday night on the West Side.
The two men were in a vehicle stopped at a stop sign at 9:08 p.m. in the 1700 block of North Mayfield when a group of males on foot began shooting, according to Chicago Police.
The 22-year-old Dismukes was shot in the face and back, and was pronounced dead at the scene at 10:06 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 600 block of North Laramie.
A 24-year-old man was shot in the elbow, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in good condition.
A man found fatally shot on a porch in the East Garfield Park neighborhood on the West Side on Sunday night has been identified as 22-year-old Kewon D. Vilella.
Vilella was found at 7:54 p.m. on a porch in the 3900 block of West Gladys, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He has suffered a gunshot wound to the chest
He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:28 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Vilella lived in the 7500 block of South Wood.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
A 35-year-old man fatally stabbed his girlfriend Julia Martin before jumping to his own death last week in the Prairie Shores neighborhood on the South Side, authorities said.
About 7 p.m. Friday, Rodney Alan Harvey Jr. confronted the 28-year-old Martin when she returned to her home in the 3000 block of South King Drive, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
He stabbed her repeatedly, then jumped to his death from a window of her building, police said.
Both were taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 7:18 p.m. and Martin was pronounced dead at 7:37 p.m., authorities said. Harvey was pronounced dead at 7:18 p.m. and Martin at 7:37 p.m., authorities said. He lived in the 2300 block of South Michigan Avenue.
Autopsies ruled Martin’s death a homicide from multiple sharp force injuries, the medical examiner’s office said. Harvey’s death was ruled a suicide from cervical fracture and dislocation following a jump from a height. Read more
A man who was shot to death last week in the Gresham neighborhood on the South Side has been identified as 25-year-old Antonio N Lee, who was known to friends as Zachary Banks.
Lee was found lying on the ground with a gunshot wound to the face at 2:34 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 5, in the 8000 block of South Marshfield, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Lee, of the 800 block of South Wells, was pronounced dead at the scene at 3:05 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office. His death was ruled a homicide.
A YouCaring page has been set up to help the family with funeral expenses.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
What is Homicide Watch Chicago?
Homicide Watch Chicago is dedicated to the proposition that murder is never a run-of-the-mill story. Attention must be paid to each one, not merely a select and particularly tragic few. We understand the reality of the public’s demand for news - that some stories get more attention than others. But all murders represent a degree of human suffering - direct and indirect - that cannot be ignored. Read more…
