Homicide Watch Chicago

By LUKE WILUSZ and JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A South Side man whose street name was referred to in lyrics by several Chicago rappers was found guilty of the 2014 fatal shooting of a 14-year-old Venzel Richardson in the Woodlawn neighborhood.

A Cook County jury convicted 20-year-old Ahbir Sardin of first-degree murder Thursday night for the shooting death of the teen, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Sardin, 17 at the time of the murder, was known on the streets as “D.Rose” and was featured in lyrics by Chief Keef, Cdai and RondoNumbaNine, sources said at the time of his arrest.

Richardson and his friends had just left a convenience store near 61st and King Drive on the night of Feb. 12, 2014, and were walking south in the 6100 block of South Vernon when a white minivan pulled up alongside them, prosecutors said.
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A man whose burned body was found Sunday night in a Far South Side forest preserve has been identified as 25-year-old Deamar C. Bingham.

An autopsy showed that Bingham had been shot to death, and the case has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Friday.

Someone reported smoke in the the Beaubien Woods Forest Preserve in the 13200 block of South Doty Avenue about 7:30 p.m. Sunday, according to Cook County officials. When the flames were extinguished, the burned body was discovered.

The victim, whose body was badly burned, was identified Friday as Bingham, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. His home address was not known.

An autopsy showed Bingham died of a gunshot wound to the torso, and ruled his death a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The Cook County sheriff’s office is investigating.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

By ZOE FISHER
Homicide Watch Chicago

There are numerous groups and programs dedicated to stopping the violence that is ravaging some areas of the city, but a new study at UIC aims to work on the other side of the problem — those left in its wake.

The National Institute of Justice is funding a three-year, $1.5 million study at the University of Illinois at Chicago aimed at identifying resources needed by victims of violence.

The study hopes to break down the financial, emotional and medical barriers young, Black, male violence survivors face, and ramp up the ones that are already helping them with support.

“African-American male adolescents face disproportionate risk for death or injury resulting from assaultive violence,” according to the American Psychology Association.

Thus, the survey it created is specifically geared toward 18- to 24-year-old black men, including transgender, who have experienced any sort of violence, such as hate crimes, sexual assault, physical violence, or violence in the military or prison.
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Eighteen-year-old Alexander Townsend was killed in a drive-by shooting Wednesday morning while walking home from school in the South Shore neighborhood.

The shooting happened at 10:21 a.m. in the 2600 block of East 75th Street, according to Chicago Police.

Townsend had just crossed the street when a black vehicle drove past and someone inside fired shots in his direction, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Townsend, who was shot in the hand and abdomen, was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 11:08 a.m., authorities said. He lived in the 7600 block of South Cornell Avenue.

A witness said that Townsend and a friend were walking home with the friend’s mother after being turned away from a school about two blocks from the crime scene when the shooting occurred.

The teens, both students at Excel Academy of South Shore, had been denied admission to the building because they failed to wear dress code-required bow ties, the witness said.

However, a spokesperson for the school said in an email that Townsend “was not sent home from school; he left our campus of his own volition that morning.”

Spokesperson Brittany Tressler said the school “does not send students away if they are in violation of the uniform policy. Instead, we loan students whatever they need to comply with the policy.”

She added: “Excel Academy is heartsick over this young man’s death.”

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Tony Saffore, known to friends as T.T., was found dead with his throat slit Sunday night in the West Garfield Park neighborhood, according to authorities.

The body was discovered with a neck laceration about 8:45 p.m. in the 4500 block of West Monroe, according to Chicago Police. A knife was found nearby.

The victim was identified as the 28-year-old Saffore, of the 7100 block of South Yates, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of multiple stab and incise wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Police and medical examiner’s office identified the victim as a man, but friends said Saffore was a transgender woman, known as T.T., who was homeless.

No one was in custody as of Thursday morning.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Reginald Hester told detectives he was angry that a woman who agreed to perform sex acts on him in exchange for $10 took his money and never returned.

So he decided to “scare the b—-” and set her South Chicago building on fire, Cook County prosecutors said Wednesday.

The woman escaped and called 911, giving police a description of “Church,” the man she knew as selling loose cigarettes in the neighborhood.

But before it was over, Hester’s fiery handiwork claimed the lives of four others, including three young sisters, Assistant State’s Attorney Becky Walters said.

Hester, 51, was ordered held without bond on charges of four counts of murder and two counts of aggravated arson.

Madison Watson, 4; and her half-sister Shaniya Staples, 7, burned to death that morning in a third-floor apartment of the three-story, courtyard building in the 8100 block of South Essex.

Madison’s sister, 4-month-old Melanie Watson, died from the injuries she suffered when their father jumped out of the building holding onto Melanie to escape the flames Aug. 23, Walters said.
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By DANIEL BROWN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Shaquille Alexander was found shot to death Thursday morning in the West Englewood neighborhood.

Alexander, 21, was found unresponsive with a gunshot wound to the head at 5:24 a.m. in the 5600 block of South Seeley, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Alexander, of the 2700 block of West 61st Street, was pronounced dead at the scene at 5:54 a.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

The body could be seen lying in the middle of Seeley between 56th and 57th streets, covered in a blue sheet and surrounded by seven to eight shell casings.
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By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A second man has been charged with the fatal shooting of Damien Cionzynski during a fight inside a Portage Park neighborhood gas station over the Memorial Day weekend.

Rasheed Mujkovic, 23, faces one count of first-degree murder, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Mujkovic and his co-defendant, 24-year-old Florin Mulosmani, walked into a BP gas station in the 6300 block of West Montrose about 5:15 a.m. May 28, prosecutors said.

Cionzynski, 23, was already inside the station with a friend making a purchase. Mulosmani got into an argument with Cionzynski’s friend and began patting down Cionzynski’s pants and demanding his belongings, prosecutors said.

Mulosmani then punched Cionzynski’s friend, and Cionzynski pushed Mulosmani away, prosecutors said.
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By STEFANO ESPOSITO, ASHLEE REZIN, MITCH DUDEK, ANDY GRIMM, JORDAN OWEN and LUKE WILUSZ

A man has been charged with murder and arson for the apartment building fire that left four people, including three children, dead three weeks ago in the South Chicago neighborhood.

Reginald Hester, 51, faces four counts of first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated arson causing bodily harm, according to Chicago Police.

The blaze was reported at 1:36 a.m. Aug. 23 in a three-story, courtyard apartment building in the 8100 block of South Essex, according to the Chicago Fire Department. It was later upgraded to a three-alarm fire.

Fire officials reported heavy fire on the second and third floors, and the building’s stairwells were deemed impassable.

A 3-month-old girl who lived in the building, Melanie Watson, was taken to Comer Children’s Hospital, where she was pronounced dead at 2:40 a.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. An autopsy showed she died from injuries from a fall from height, and smoke inhalation
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By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Two men have been sentenced to a total of 125 years in prison for the murder of John Wallace in the Englewood neighborhood over Labor Day weekend in 2013.

Victor Willis, 25; and his cousin Jamal Davis, 24, were previously convicted of the shooting death of 25-year-old John Wallace, according to a statement from the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. A third defendant, Charles McKinney, was acquitted.

Davis had an argument with someone during the last week of August in 2013, according to prosecutors.

On Sept. 1, 2013, Davis went to that person’s home in the 6400 block of South Morgan, where a group had gathered to celebrate Labor Day weekend, prosecutors said.

After a short period of time, Davis left the home, but threatened to bring several others back with him to “shoot the place up,” prosecutors said.

About half an hour later, Davis returned with Willis and a McKinney, prosecutors said.

Willis, armed with a gun with an extended clip, stormed up the porch, banged on the door and demanded to know where the person Davis had argued with was, prosecutors said.
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