Homicide Watch Chicago

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least five people were killed in gun violence in the final week of April in Chicago, ending a month in which homicides were up 3 percent from last year. And while that is not a good number, it did halt a trend of murders rising by large numbers over a year ago.

There were 36 murders this April, one more than in April 2015, the Chicago Police Department said Sunday. In the first four months of 2016, there have been 175 murders—51 in January, 43 in February, 45 in March and 36 in April, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

In a sixth homicide case, reckless homicide and other charges were filed in the death of a woman who was fatally struck by a vehicle Saturday night while crossing busy Archer Avenue near Midway Airport.

The final homicide of the month was a man killed he got into a shootout with a teenager Saturday afternoon in the South Side Washington Park neighborhood.

Deitrick Stogner, 36, and a 17-year-old boy were shooting at each other in the 100 block of West Garfield Boulevard about 1:20 p.m., according to police.
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Lamar Watson was around the corner from his home in North Lawndale when he was fatally shot early Saturday.

The 30-year-old Watson was standing outside just after 2 a.m. in the 2200 block of South Kolin when someone walked up and shot him in the head, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 6:30 a.m., authorities said. Watson lived around the corner in the 2200 block of South Kirkland.

No one was in custody for the shooting as of Sunday night, police said.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Deitrick Stogner was killed and a 17-year-old was boy wounded when they got into a shootout Saturday afternoon in the Washington Park neighborhood.

The 36-year-old Stogner and the teen were shooting at each other in the 100 block of West Garfield Boulevard, near the Checker’s restaurant about 1:20 p.m., according to Chicago Police.

Stogner was shot in the chest and side, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:24 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 4600 block of South Prairie.

The 17-year-old was shot in the left leg, and was taken to Stroger Hospital in good condition, police said.

Charges are pending against the boy, police said.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

By MITCH DUDEK and JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times

Marques Gaines | photo provided

On Friday, the death of the 32-year-old bartender was ruled a homicide.

Gaines had left a downtown motel after finishing a work shift, then went with a few colleagues to have a drink at Mother Hubbard’s, according to a lawsuit filed last week in Cook County Circuit Court.

After leaving the bar early on the morning on Feb. 7, Gaines went into the 7-Eleven store at State and Hubbard to buy a bag of chips. As he was leaving, he got into an altercation with a man who’d just been kicked out of the store by a security guard, according to the suit.
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By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Daisy Gutierrez | Cook County Sheriff’s Dept.

Daisy Gutierrez, 21, pleaded guilty to dismembering a body before Judge William Hooks, according to Cook County court records.

Prosecutors alleged a love triangle was at the center of the grisly murder at the home in the Ashburn neighborhood.

Gutierrez told her family to leave their home in the 8300 block of South Scottsdale Avenue on May 21, 2013, and lured her former boyfriend’s brother, Reyes, to her room, prosecutors said. She began to undress while her current boyfriend, 24-year-old Milton Miranda, lay in wait.

Reyes, 28, had expressed interest in Gutierrez, so as she began undressing, Miranda kicked in the door and attacked Reyes with a pipe and knife, prosecutors said. He slit Reyes’ throat in front of Gutierrez and decapitated him.
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By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Jamal Joiner | Chicago Police

Amari was killed after watching fireworks with his father on the sidewalk shortly before midnight in Humboldt Park in the 1100 block of North Harding.

Jamal Joiner told someone that he and Rasheed Martin–-members of the Black Flag faction of the Four Corner Hustlers–-were aiming at a rival when a bullet pierced Amari’s chest, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jamie Santini told Judge Peggy Chiampas on Thursday.

The gang members had been feuding for several months, and had had shootouts earlier that day, as well as on April 17, 2015, and May 23, 2015, Santini said.

Joiner is currently being held without bond in Cook County Jail for a murder charge stemming from the April 17, 2015 incident.
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By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Devante Graham | Cook County sheriff’s office

Devante Graham, 20, was originally charged with murder based on the theory of accountability for the February 2014 incident outside a Citgo gas station in the 700 block of East 103rd Street.

That charge and others were dropped after Graham pleaded guilty to armed robbery before Judge James Linn on Tuesday, according to court records.

Emmanuel Johnson, now 17, was also charged with the murder of Mackey. He is still awaiting trial.
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By ASHLEE REZIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Chicago Police investigate in the 2000 block of West 68th Place late Sunday, where five people were shot, two of them fatally. | Network Video Productions

A group of people was sitting on a front porch in the 2000 block of West 68th Place about 11:10 p.m. when someone got out of a vehicle in a nearby vacant lot and opened fire, according to Chicago Police.

Hamb, 27, was shot in the chest, and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 500 block of East 72nd Street.

Barrett, 38, was shot in the neck, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 12:33 a.m. Monday, according to the medical examiner’s office. Barrett lived on the same block where the shooting happened.

A 27-year-old man shot in the back was taken Christ Medical Center; a 17-year-old boy shot in the left leg was taken to St. Bernard Hospital; and a 23-year-old woman shot in the left leg was taken to Stroger Hospital. All their conditions were stabilized, according to police.

Glenn Wheeler was killed and another man was wounded in a shooting Tuesday afternoon in the Back of the Yards neighborhood on the South Side.

Wheeler, 24, and a 19-year-old were traveling in a vehicle at 4:37 p.m. in the 900 block of West Garfield when another vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired shots, authorities said.

Wheeler suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the abdomen and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 6:02 p.m., according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 5200 block of South Wood.

The younger man was also taken to Stroger in critical condition with a gunshot wound to the back, police said.

A GoFundMe page has been set up to help offset funeral costs.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

By ASHLEE REZIN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Chicago Police investigate in the 2000 block of West 68th Place late Sunday, where five people were shot, two of them fatally. | Network Video Productions

The group was sitting on a front porch in the 2000 block of West 68th Place about 11:10 p.m. when someone got out of a vehicle in a nearby vacant lot and opened fire, according to Chicago Police.

Hamb, 27, was shot in the chest and taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead at 11:55 p.m., according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 500 block of East 72nd Street.

A 38-year-old man was shot in the neck and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said. The medical examiner’s office had not released his name as of Tuesday afternoon.

A 27-year-old man shot in the back was taken Christ Medical Center; a 17-year-old boy shot in the left leg was taken to St. Bernard Hospital; and a 23-year-old woman shot in the left leg was taken to Stroger Hospital, police said. All of their conditions were stabilized.