Homicide Watch Chicago

Authorities have identified a man found shot to death inside a burning car in Roseland as Laprentis Cudjo of Harvey.

Fire crews responded to a car fire at 2:11 p.m. Wednesday in the 10700 block of South Eggleston, according to Chicago Police.

Cudjo, 28, was found inside the vehicle when the fire was put out. Cudjo, of the 14800 block of South Winchester in Harvey, was dead at the scene, authorities said.

An autopsy found he died of a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Craig Curry was shot to death Sunday night in West Englewood in what police are calling a domestic incident.

The 48-year-old was shot in the head about 8 p.m. during a domestic dispute in the 6800 block of South Loomis, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Curry, who lived on the same block as the shooting, was pronounced dead at the scene less than 20 minutes later, the medical examiner’s office said.

Police said no one has been taken into custody in connection with the shooting as of Monday morning.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A man has been charged with killing 18-year-old Cory Fisher and wounding a teenage boy in a shooting in the West Garfield Park neighborhood in August.

Mark Clay | Chicago Police

Clay got into an argument with Fisher and a 16-year-old boy on the street in the 3800 block of West Lexington about 6:12 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Clay pulled out a gun and fired shots, striking Fisher in the head and the teena in the right shoulder, authorities said.

Both were taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. Fisher, of the 3200 block of West Carroll, was pronounced dead at 6:24 p.m., authorities said. The teen’s condition was stabilized.

Clay, of the 900 block of North Latrobe, was was ordered held without bond on Sunday, and will next appear in court on Monday.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Bond was denied Sunday for a man charged with the fatal shooting of Zika Urosevic two weeks ago in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Ladarren Ball | Chicago Police

The 38-year-old Urosevic was standing with a group of people in the 1200 block of North Keeler when two people walked up and started shooting about 6 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Urosevic, of the 4200 block of West Crystal, was shot in the back of the neck and died at the scene, authorities said.

Ball, of the 200 block of North Leamington, appeared in bond court Sunday, where a judge ordered him held without bond, according to police and the Cook County’s sheriff’s office. He is due back in court Monday.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Jeremy Gonzalez died Thursday night, nearly six years after he was shot in the head while walking with his mother in Logan Square.

Jeremy Gonzalez | Facebook

A man or teenage boy with short, dark hair and a dark blue sweatshirt walked up, yelled gang slogans, and shot Gonzalez in the back of the head, police said at the time.
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Hector Navarro of northwest suburban McHenry was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side.

Navarro, 41, was shot in the chest about 2:35 p.m. in the 1500 block of North Harding, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Navarro, of the 4100 block of Crystal Lake Road in McHenry, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 3:10 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

By RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-TImes

Jermaine Wright | Cook County sheriff’s office

Jermaine Wright, 33, was charged with the murder Jeffries, who was gunned down Aug. 29. Wright’s brother and Jeffries fought over a woman before the shooting, authorities said. Wright’s brother is still being sought by police.

After the fight at 61st and Justine, a witness saw Wright’s brother go into a house and come out with a handgun, Assistant State’s Attorney Molly Donnelly said. Wright pulled up in an SUV, his brother got in and the two siblings drove off, the witness said.
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Chicago Police say they are taking new steps to quell gun violence because of a continuing rise in murders this year.

So far this year, murders have risen 21 percent—and most were the result of shootings.

“We’re constantly improving our performance and right now the most important thing that we’re doing that we changed our policy on is the fact that we are now sending detectives to every single gun arrest to gather evidence and treat that crime with the seriousness it deserves just like a robbery or burglary,” police Supt. Garry McCarthy said Thursday morning on WGN-TV.

“The results to date are not acceptable to anyone,” CPD said in a statement released Thursday. New strategies to reduce shootings include putting detectives in each police district to improve “collaboration and community intelligence as they work to solve cases and get dangerous criminals off the street,” the statement said.
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Samuel Walker Jr.

Three men have been charged with a July 2014 shooting in East Garfield Park that left a 13-year-old Samuel Walker Jr. dead, and six other people wounded.

Anthony Harris, Anthony Lyons and Joshua Almore, all 23, each face one count of first-degree murder and six counts of attempted first-degree murder in connection with a shooting on July 25 2014, in the 700 block of South California, police said.
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By JORDAN OWEN
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

A man has been charged with killing Michael Wright just over a year ago in the Burnside neighborhood on the South Side.

Kinton Jones | Chicago Police

Jones was driving in the 9300 block of South Greenwood about 10:35 a.m. and pulled alongside the 21-year-old Wright’s car, according to prosecutors.

Jones confronted Wright about telling people what kind of car he drove, prosecutors said. Wright denied knowing anything about it, and Jones pulled a gun from the center console of his car and fired at Wright.
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