Angelo Bennett | Homicide Watch Chicago

Angelo Bennett sentenced to 45 years in deadly road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager

Michael Lansu — Wed, 27 May 2015 16:55:24 -0500

Angelo Bennett / Photo from Cook County sheriff's office

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Angelo Bennett said all he’s ever wanted to do since he was charged with murdering a gentlemen’s club manager was apologize to the slain man’s family.

He got his chance on Wednesday.

“I pray for your forgiveness,” Angelo Bennett said, looking toward Charles E. Jones’ friends and relatives. “Sincerely from the depths of my being, I am sorry.”

Before Bennett was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing Jones and wounding Jones’ fiancee, Jones’ cousin read a victim-impact statement written by Jones’ mother.

In the statement, Jones was described as a “gentle giant” and caring “mama’s boy” who respected women while Bennett was characterized as “deceitful,” a “menace” and “bad seed.”

Jones’ fiancee Kathy Bias said since the incident May 26, 2013, she can’t close her eyes without seeing Bennett chase and try to kill her as he did after a traffic dispute on Goose Island.

Bias said she feels lost without 42-year-old Jones, a “hero” who she had hoped to start a family with.

“You didn’t only put a hole in my back,” Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Paul Joyce said, reading Bias’ statement. “You put a hole in my heart.”

Judge Carol Howard said Jones may have initiated the physical altercation after his Maserati and Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse collided. But the fight had ended before Bennett decided to grab his .38-caliber revolver and shoot Bennett in the face and Bias in the back.

Bennett, 26, did not act in self-defense, the judge said, reiterating her ruling in Bennett’s bench trial in March.

Bennett’s mom stood by her son’s story while she defended him on the stand Wednesday.

“You did nothing wrong,” Geneva Bennett said, sobbing. “You wanted to live.”

“He’s a murderer,” one of Bennett’s relatives said under his breath as Geneva Bennett denied her son was a trigger-happy “thug.”

During his trial, Bennett said he initially tried exchanging information with Jones after a fender-bender but said Jones waved him off.

Bennett then drove away to the 1000 block of North Branch Street because he didn’t want officers investigating the crash to find the gun he had in the car.

Jones and Bias drove after Bennett. When Bennett’s friend asked to be let out of the Buick, Bennett hid his gun underneath another parked car.

Jones had physically attacked Bennett, but he eventually let Bennett go, according to court testimony. Still, Bennett was so incensed that Jones had confronted him, he went to get his gun and fired at the two victims without warning, prosecutors said.

Angelo Bennett convicted of murder in road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager Charles Jones

Michael Lansu — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 19:19:34 -0500

Angelo Bennett / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

An Austin man was convicted Tuesday of gunning down a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager and wounding the victim’s fiancée after a traffic dispute on Goose Island.

Charles E. Jones’ friends and family applauded when Cook County Judge Carol Howard found Angelo Bennett guilty of murder and attempted murder for the May 26, 2013, incident.

Bennett claimed he shot Jones in self defense.

The judge said Jones, 42, shouldn’t have beaten Bennett in the head after Jones’ Maserati and Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse collided, but she believed the fight was over when Bennett decided to grab his .38-caliber revolver and shoot Jones twice in the face, killing him.

Bennett, 26, testified earlier Tuesday he was “terrified” of the burly Jones and only fired to protect his “smaller” friend who was with him.

Bennett, who was a manager of two Chicago-area Jimmy Johns, said he did not know how Jones’ fiancée, Kathy Bias, ended up with a gunshot wound to her back as she tried to drive away in Jones’ car.

But Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Joyce said Bennett intentionally aimed at Bias because he didn’t want any witnesses to the crime.

Bias, now 46, survived and testified during the two-day trial.

Bennett said he initially tried exchanging information with Jones after the fender-bender but said Jones waved him off, screaming, “Get that out of my face. This is a $70,000 car.”

Bennett then drove away to the 1000 block of North Branch Street because he didn’t want officers investigating the crash to find the gun he had in the car, according to court testimony.

Jones and Bias drove after Bennett, and when Bennett’s friend asked to be let out of the Buick, Bennett took his gun and hid it underneath another parked car.

Soon, Bennett said, Jones grabbed him by the collar and started attacking him with a metal object.

Jones eventually let Bennett go. But Bennett was so humiliated that he was roughed up by Jones, he retrieved his gun and shot Jones and Bias without warning, prosecutors said.

Lawyer: Driver acted in self defense in fatal road rage shooting

John Carpenter — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:01:44 -0500

Angelo Bennett's attorney said this photo shows the injury Bennett sustained in an altercation with Charles E. Jones. Bennett, charged with Jones' murder, says he acted in self defense.

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN, Chicago Sun-Times Criminal Courts Reporter

A Lake View man acted in selfdefense when he shot and killed a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager and injured the man’s fiancee in a road rage incident over the weekend, the alleged gunman’s lawyer argued Friday.

Angelo Bennett was grabbed in a headlock, choked and hit so hard he ended up with a gaping gash on top of his head, defense attorney John Miraglia said. Charles E. Jones “initiated the violence” following a minor accident in Goose Island involving Bennett, Miraglia said after Bennett, 24, was ordered held without bail for Sunday’s incident.

Jones was so irritated his Maserati was damaged he “assailed my client. He split his head open,” Miraglia told Cook County Judge Israel Desierto.

But prosecutors said it was Bennett who let the best of temper get him and shot 42yearold Jones twice in the head before aiming for Jones’ fiancee as she tried to flee in the luxury vehicle in the 1000 block of North Branch.

The 44-year-old woman, who was shot in the back, still has a bullet lodged in her vertebrae, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

Bennett’s friend even refused to get in the back into Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse following the shootings, Santini said. He allegedly walked away while Bennett drove off with his weapon.

Just before the shooting began, Bennett and Jones, a manager at The Factory Chicago, had pulled over after Bennett’s car sideswiped Jones’ vehicle on Division, authorities said. Jones’ fiancee, meanwhile, called 911.
After a brief discussion with Jones, prosecutors said Bennett ran back to his car and fled the scene with his friend inside.

The friend, who is in the military, asked to be let out of the car, and Bennett eventually pulled over and the pair got out, Santini said.

Miraglia denied that his client drove away, saying that his tires were blown out as a result of the accident, making it impossible for him to peel away.

However, the defense attorney did concede his client hid a loaded silver revolver under another parked car. Miraglia explained because “alcohol” was a factor in the minor wreck, Bennett didn’t want to get into further trouble with authorities.

“It was bad decision,” Miraglia said of his client’s choice to have a gun.
“We do live in Chicago,” Bennett’s sister Alexandra Elias later said, telling reporters that her brother had a gun for protection.

Prosecutors said the weapon was used for shooting innocent people instead.

When Jones and his fiancee came upon Bennett again as they made their way to the nearest police station to report the accident, Jones got out and he and Bennett got into a “brief physical altercation,” Santini said.

At some point, Bennett broke away, retrieved his gun and began shooting, Santini said.
Bennett was identified by Jones’ fiancee and his friend told police he had seen Bennett fire his weapon at the two victims, Santini said.

Bennett, a Near North College Preparatory graduate who manages two Chicagoarea Jimmy Johns, allegedly admitted to police he dismantled the murder weapon and tossed the parts over a rooftop and a bridge.

After Friday’s bond hearing, Elias chastised the media for portraying her brother as an “animal” and told reporters he was a “good kid” full of charm and humor.

Miraglia, who gave reporters a picture of his client with an apparent injury to his head, said Bennett’s friend believes Bennett was in fear for his life when he opened fire.

“These are good kids [Bennett and his friend],” Miraglia said.

Lake View man charged with killing gentleman’s club manager

Sun-Times Media Wire — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:22:33 -0500

A Lake View man was charged with murder Thursday for allegedly fatally shooting a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager outside a sports car after an early Sunday fender bender on the Near North Side.

Angelo Bennett, 24, of the 4300 block of North Ashland Avenue, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated battery / discharge of a firearm and attempted first-degree murder, police said.

Bennett is accused of killing Charles Jones, the manager of a Far South Side gentleman’s club, and wounding a woman inside the sports car he was driving during an early Sunday shooting in the Goose Island area.

The shooting started about 2:50 a.m., after a 2005 Buick LaCrosse sideswiped a Maserati in the 1000 block of North Branch Street on the Near North Side, police said.

The driver of the Maserati, 42-year-old gentleman’s club manager Charles Jones, was shot dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Jones was a manager of The Factory Chicago, a gentleman’s club in the 12000 block of South Doty Avenue, a police source said. The club posted on its Twitter account Sunday morning, “God called his soldier home … R.I.P. Charles Jones.”

Jones had pulled over after the crash and got out of the sports car to talk to the driver of the Buick, police said.

The driver of the Buick and a passenger then exited the car, walked over to another vehicle and came back to the Maserati, police said. One of them then opened fire on Jones and a 44-year-old woman inside the Maserati.

Jones was shot in the head and a 44-year-old woman in the passenger’s seat was struck in the back or hip, authorities said. Jones was declared dead at 3:33 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the woman was taken in “stable” condition, authorities said.

Jones was driving a car with Texas license plates, but apparently lived on the Near North Side, a police source said. However, the medical examiner’s office listed his home address as Miami.

Bennett is scheduled to appear in bond court Friday, police said.

Angelo Bennett | Homicide Watch Chicago

Angelo Bennett sentenced to 45 years in deadly road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager

Angelo Bennett convicted of murder in road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager Charles Jones

Lawyer: Driver acted in self­ defense in fatal road­ rage shooting

Lake View man charged with killing gentleman’s club manager

Lawyer: Driver acted in self defense in fatal road rage shooting