By MITCH DUDEK
Chicago Sun-Times
Michael Santiago | Chicago Police
Michael Santiago bought a revolver to protect himself after the former gang member was tagged with the dangerous label of “snitch” because he testified at the murder trial of another gang member, according to Cook County prosecutors.
But his plan went terribly wrong, and his 3-year-old Eian H. Santiago paid the price.
Santiago’s 6-year-old son got his hands on the gun and accidentally shot his younger brother while the toddler ate a bowl of macaroni and cheese, killing him, prosecutors said at his Sunday bond hearing.
“This is the ultimate tragedy,” Cook County Judge James Brown said before setting Santiago’s bail at $75,000. “I’m sure the defendant didn’t intend for this to happen, but it did happen.”
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A man found shot to death in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side early Friday has been identified as Dameon Williams.
Williams, 28, got into an altercation with another male, who shot him in the head in the 8300 block of South Evans a few minutes after 1 a.m., according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The suspect ran away after the shooting.
Officers found Williams unresponsive and he was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. His home address was not immediately available.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Brianna Jenkins was killed and a man injured in a shooting in the Gresham neighborhood Sunday afternoon.
Jenkins, 19, and the 20-year-old man were sitting in a car about 4:30 p.m. in the 7800 block of South Honore when someone walked up and opened fire, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Jenkins, of the 2100 block of West 69th Street, was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Friends drove the man to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition stabilized.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times
Christopher Garza | Chicago Police
and
Israel C. Pena were working together when they committed a residential burglary in Rockford, the prosecutors said Friday.
But when it came to distributing the proceeds of the crime, the pair’s teamwork spirit went south, authorities said.
Garza got so mad during the disagreement on the morning of Jan. 29, he grabbed a gun and fired at Pena several times while they rode in Pena’s sister’s car, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Todd Kleist said.
After shooting the 20-year-old Pena in the chest, arm and hip, Garza took Pena’s body out of the car and dumped it in the 1200 block of West 32nd in Bridgeport, Kleist said
The car the men had been traveling in was discovered burned a half a mile away that day. Pena’s body was found soon after.
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By STEFANO ESPOSITO and LUKE WILUSZ
Chicago Sun-Times
Police tape at 60th and Carpenter where one Safe Passage worker reported hearing “six or seven shots.” | Stefano Esposito/Sun-Times
was shot and killed in a drive-by attack Friday morning on a Chicago Public Schools Safe Passage route in Englewood.
The 32-year-old Thomas was walking in the 6000 block of South Aberdeen when someone fired at him from a passing gray vehicle about 7:30 a.m., according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Shot four times, he was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:51 a.m., authorities said. Thomas’ home address was unknown Friday afternoon.
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By LUKE WILUSZ
Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Christopher Garza | Chicago Police
A South Side man has been charged with the fatal shooting of
Israel C. Pena of Rockford in the Bridgeport neighborhood in January.
Christopher Garza, 20, was identified as the man who shot Pena on Jan. 29, according to a statement from Chicago Police. Garza, of the 4500 block of South Wood, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder.
He was also charged with a felony count of aggravated battery to a police officer after police said he head-butted a detective while being questioned about an unrelated incident.
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Eighteen-year-old Michael Fenner Jr. was killed and a 16-yer-old boy wounded in a Washington Heights neighborhood shooting late Wednesday on the South Side.
About 11 p.m., Fenner and the other teen were on a sidewalk in the 9700 block of South Peoria when someone opened fire from an SUV, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Fenner was shot in the chest and abdomen, and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. He lived in the 9400 block of South Justine.
The younger boy was shot in the leg and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Oak Lawn, where his condition stabilized, police said.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
Henry R. Hayes was fatally shot in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side on Wednesday evening.
The 22-year-old Hayes was standing outside in the 7700 block of South Indiana Avenue at 5:20 p.m. when someone walked up and shot him several times in the chest, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Hayes, who lived nearby in the 300 block of East 77th Street, was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Police are investigating whether the shooting was gang-related.
—Chicago Sun-Times Wire
By KRISTEN TORRES
Homicide Watch Chicago
Luther Levall Turner | photo provided
Marla Conway last heard from her son, Luther Levall Turner, on Oct. 27, 2006. “He was on his way home from his girlfriend’s house,” Conway said. “He called his sister and said he’d be home soon. I went to bed right after that.”
He never made it home.
The 18-year-old, who lived in the 1100 block of South Richmond Street, was standing on the sidewalk in the 1500 block of South Central Avenue about 12:20 a.m. when a man approached and shot him once in the head, Chicago Police said at the time.
“I woke up to my daughter saying the police were on the phone, and they needed me to get down to Mount Sinai to identify my son,” Conway said. “I was expecting them to rush him to the ER and take the bullet out of his head, but they said we would have to wait until the morning for the neurologist to take a look at him. That was the hardest part—all the waiting.”
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By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times
Lenneth Suggs | Chicago Police
A second man has been charged with fatally shooting
Donald Ray, the brother of a woman he was arguing with last year in the West Side Austin neighborhood.
Lenneth Suggs, 22, was charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder for the shooting on July 6, 2014, according to Chicago Police and court records.
Suggs and a friend were in the 5200 block of West Lake Street when his friend got into an argument with a woman, Assistant State’s Attorney Kim Przekota said in bond court Wednesday. They left, but returned a few minutes later with a handgun.
Suggs’ friend pointed the gun at the woman and police were called, Przekota said. But Suggs and his friend left before officers arrived.
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