Suspected gunman charged with murder after getaway driver dies in crash

Michael Lansu — Tue, 23 Dec 2014 15:13:28 -0600

Scene where Deandra Washington was killed in a crash / Photo from NVP

BY JORDAN OWEN
Sun-Times Media

A Dolton man suspected in a non-fatal drive-by shooting has been charged with murder after his alleged getaway driver died when he crashed in the South Chicago neighborhood while attempting to allude police.

Officers parked in an alley conducting surveillance on a home in the 8000 block of South Manistee Avenue saw 22-year-old James Hopkins walk up to the house in a black hooded-sweatshirt and open fire on a man standing in the doorway about 9:45 p.m. Sunday, prosecutors said.

The 24-year-old man was shot in the leg and taken to South Shore Hospital, where he was treated and released, authorities said.

After the shooting, Hopkins got into the front passenger seat of a getaway car that fled south on Manistee Avenue, prosecutors said. One of the officers allegedly saw Hopkins remove his sweatshirt.

The officers who witnessed the shooting followed and radioed for assistance, according to prosecutors, who said the driver, 24-year-old Deandra Washington, initially slowed down, but later accelerated and drove away.

The car eventually was traveling at more than 100 miles per hour, and officers saw a gun tossed out of a passenger window near East 83rd Street and South Essex Avenue, prosecutors said.

The car eventually crashed into another vehicle at East 92nd Street and South Jeffery Boulevard, authorities said. After the initial crash, the alleged getaway car struck a tree and flipped over, authorities said.

Scene where Deandra Washington was killed in a crash / Photo from NVP

Washington, of the 14900 block of South Langley Avenue in Dolton, died at the scene, authorities said. An autopsy determined she died from multiple injuries from a vehicle collison and the death was ruled an accident.

The driver of the other vehicle, a 27-year-old woman, was taken to a hospital as a precaution, authorities said.

Officers recovered the gun thrown out the window and the black hooded-sweatshirt from the car, prosecutors said.

Hopkins, 22, of the 14800 block of South Chicago in Dolton, was charged with murder for Washington's death, authorities said. He was also charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery for the discharge of a weapon, Chicago Police said.

Hopkins suffered a broken bone in his back, a broken arm and a ruptured bladder in the crash, prosecutors said.

Hopkins remained in hospitalized and did not appear in court. Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered him held without bond.

James Hopkins | Homicide Watch Chicago

Suspected gunman charged with murder after getaway driver dies in crash