Eugene Andrews | Homicide Watch Chicago

Childhood friend remembers Darren Ray as East Garfield Park peacekeeper

Susan Du — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 16:05:12 -0500

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Darren Ray was a conflict mentor and role model to children on his East Garfield Park block, a friend said.

On Saturday, Eugene Andrews allegedly fatally shot Ray, 42, in an alley in the 2900 block of West Flournoy Street, prosecutors said. Now area residents are questioning why one neighbor would kill another.

The father of five was not the first member of his family to murdered. Ray’s brother, Davi,d was shot dead in the neighborhood in the 1990s, said log-time friend Marcus Jenkins.

Jenkins said he grew up with Ray and Andrews and never sensed any conflict between the two men. Ray’s murder was especially shocking because he was well-known in the neighborhood as a beloved conflict mediator, Jenkins said.

“It's a shock to everybody because you’d think that’s the last person who would get killed, and [Andrews] is the last person you’d think would kill him,” Jenkins said. “[Ray] was good people. When all the older people turned their backs for the young people, he always seemed to pop up whenever something’s going on and just alleviate it right then and there.”

Ray was one of eight Chicagoans killed over Easter weekend. He was shot multiple times about 9:30 a.m. in the 2900 block of West Flournoy Street, police said.

Andrews, 37, and Ray hugged just prior to the shooting, prosecutors said. Video surveillance shows Andrews, a registered FBI informant, meeting Ray before pulling a gun and shooting him twice, Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Runk said.

Video captured the killing and showed Ray put his hands up seconds before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Eugene Andrews / Photo from Chicago Police

Jenkins said he was 14 when he first met Ray, who even then exhibited efforts to be a role model for the younger people on the block. He was a big brother, advisor and watchdog, often cautioning kids to stop doing “something they got no business doing,” Jenkins said.

“When you’re supposed to be at school at a certain time, when he sees you leave the school, he’s going to say, ‘Don’t you be thinking about going in and out, don't you know your momma’s gonna beat you?’” Jenkins recalled of Ray’s early years as a neighborhood peacekeeper.

Now, Ray had a reputation as a community resource, quick to lend money to friends, always seen with one of his five children in tow walking around the neighborhood where he grew up.

Since Ray’s his death, Andrews’ family has stayed mostly out of sight despite the interconnectivity of residents on the block, Jenkins said.

“Here everybody knows each other, but I mean don’t nobody really knows what's going on,” Jenkins said. “Both of them are just lost.”

Judge James Brown denied bond for Andrews on Tuesday. He will be back in court May 14.

Comment of the Day: "Cuzo wouldn't do that"

Michael Lansu — Wed, 23 Apr 2014 16:01:05 -0500

Eugene Andrews was charged with murder in the Saturday morning shooting death of Darren Ray in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. Reader "Red" posted this about him:

My Cuzo wouldn't do that the police just didn't want to do their dam jobs so they charged the first person they got

UPDATE: FBI informant on tape hugging man before shooting him, prosecutors say

Michael Lansu — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 17:21:31 -0500

Eugene Andrews / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

An FBI informant was caught on surveillance video shooting a man he embraced just seconds before he opened fire in an East Garfield Park alley over the weekend, Cook County prosecutors said.

Eugene Andrews, a parolee who is a registered confidential FBI informant on drug cases, was identified as the gunman by his handler — a special FBI agent, Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Runk said.

Andrews, 37, was caught on tape walking up to Darren Ray on Saturday and giving him a hug in the 2900 block of West Flournoy Street, Runk said.

Andrews then drove his car into an alley near the same location while Ray, 42, followed on foot, Runk said.

At some point, Andrews got out of his car, pulled a gun out of his waistband and shot Ray twice, Runk said.

Ray was seen on video putting his hands in the air before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Andrews, who was wearing a hat, dark jacket and jeans, was arrested three hours later roughly a half mile from the shooting, Runk said.

He allegedly was in the same car with distinctive black rims that he was in prior to the murder, Runk said.

News reports over the weekend said the shooting occurred underneath a police blue-light surveillance camera. But it was unclear in court whether that camera captured the video of the shooting.

Eight people were murdered and 37 wounded in shootings in Chicago over the weekend.

Andrews was arrested in 1999 on three counts of attempted murder. He was convicted in 2003 and sentenced to 15 years in prison. He was paroled on Dec. 31, 2012.

He also has convictions for illegal weapon possession, drugs and possession of a stolen motor vehicle.

Judge James Brown ordered Andrews, of the 2400 block of West Lexington Street, held without bond Tuesday.

Andrews has a tattoo of the Grim Reaper on his lower right arm, a dragon tail on his left arm and a dragon head on his chest, according to a police report.

-- Contributing: Frank Main

Eugene Andrews charged with murder in shooting death of 42-year-old Darren Ray

Michael Lansu — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 16:37:46 -0500

Eugene Andrews / Photo from Chicago Police

Eugene Andrews has been charged for allegedly fatally shooting 42-year-old Darren Ray in an East Garfield Park alley Saturday morning.

Andrews, 37, was charged Monday with one count of first-degree murder, police said. He was also wanted on a warrant.

Officers found Ray shot multiple times in an alley in the 2900 block of West Flournoy Street about 9:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Ray, of the 3000 block of West Flournoy Street, was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Andrews, of the 2400 block of West Lexington Street, is expected to appear in bond court Tuesday.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire