Jermaine Powell | Homicide Watch Chicago

UPDATE: Joshua Grayer, Jermaine Powell denied bond in Austin shooting death of Denzell Franklin

Michael Lansu — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 15:26:02 -0500

Joshua Grayer / Photo from Chicago Police

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

A West Side man who was free on bond while awaiting trial on a sexual assault charge was behind bars Monday after prosecutors said he fatally shot a 23-year-old man Friday night in the Austin community.

Assistant State’s Attorney Elizabeth Novy said Joshua Grayer, 19, and Jermaine Powell exited the vestibule of a building in the 5500 block of West Corcoran Place and opened fire on two men in the gangway about 10 p.m. Friday.

Grayer fired at least two shots with a .38 caliber handgun, Novy said, and Powell, also 19, fired at least four shots with a .22 caliber handgun.

Denzell Franklin, whose address was not available, was shot in the face and armpit and died at the scene, authorities said.

The other man, who is 24, went to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park with a gunshot wound in his arm, Chicago Police said.

Police officers about 30 yards away heard the gunshots and saw Grayer and Powell running from the scene, Novy said.

The officers chased and eventually arrested both men. When officers retraced their attempted escape routes, they found both handguns, Novy said.

Grayer, of the 1200 block of South St. Louis Avenue, and Powell, of the 5900 block of West Huron Street, both were charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, police said.

Grayer, who suffered a graze wound during the shooting, had been free on bond as he awaited trial on a 2013 aggravated criminal sexual assault charge, Novy said.

In the sexual assault case, prosecutors had said Grayer was one of nine males in a van that approached three teenage girls walking in the 700 block of North Parkside Avenue. The girls agreed to get in the van, and two of the girls drank alcohol and smoked marijuana with the group, prosecutors said.

Jermaine Powell / Photo from Chicago Police

All three girls were then sexually assaulted in the van, prosecutors said.

Grayer’s mother, a city Department of Water Management employee, used deferred compensation to post the required $10,000 bond to free her son in the sexual assault case, his lawyer said.

Grayer is a lifelong resident of Cook County and is in school, his lawyer said.

Powell obtained his GED in 2013 and lives with his grandmother, according to a public defender. He is expecting his first child in six months.

On Monday, Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered both men held without bond in the shooting. She also ordered Grayer held without bond on the sexual assault charge.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Eight killed in citywide violence

Michael Lansu — Mon, 27 Oct 2014 09:02:44 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

At least eight people were killed by violence throughout Chicago last week.

Four of the victims were shot dead over the weekend, when at least 29 other people were wounded by gunfire.

The most recent murder happened when police found a 36-year-old man shot in the street in the 2100 block of West 18th Place in Pilsen about 9:30 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

The man, whose identity was not yet being released, had been shot in the back of the head and died about two hours later at Mount Sinai Hospital, authorities said.

In the South Chicago neighborhood, 17-year-old Marc Williams was shot while walking in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue about noon Sunday, authorities said.

Williams, of the 8100 block of South Coles Avenue, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital less than an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Friday, 39-year-old Charles Wright was shot in the abdomen in the 5300 block of South Hoyne Avenue in the Back of the Yards community about 11:30 p.m., authorities said.

Wright, of the 3100 block of West 71st Street, died about an hour later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Cliffon Johnson, 28, of the 5500 block of South Washtenaw Avenue, was charged with murder in Wright's death and is expected in court later Monday.

In the Austin community, 23-year-old Denzell Franklin was shot in a yard in the 5500 block of West Corcoran Place when multiple people opened fire from a sidewalk about 10 p.m., authorities said.

Franklin, 23, of an unidentified home address, was shot in the face and armpit and died at the scene, authorities said. Another man, 24, walked to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park with a gunshot wound to the arm, police said.

Joshua Grayer, 19, of the 1200 block of South St. Louis Avenue, and Jermaine Powell, 19, of the 5900 block of West Huron Street, were each charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, police said. Both men are expected to appear in court Monday for a bond hearing.

On Thursday, 42-year-old Tepete Davis and an acquaintance were shot during a robbery in the 7900 block of South Justine Street about 11:55 p.m., authorities said.

Davis, of an unidentified home address, died at 1:08 a.m. Friday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiner's office.

After the shooting, nearby police chased the two robbery suspects and shot one when he allegedly turned and pointed a dark object at officers, police said. Thomas Bishop, 41, of the 8200 block of South Wolcott Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder and ordered held without bond during a Sunday hearing. It was not immediately known if he was the suspect shot by police.

In the West Englewood neighborhood, 18-year-old Stanley Bobo was standing by his car in the 1400 block of West 72nd Street when a van drove past and somebody inside opened fire about 7:30 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Bobo, who lived on the block, was shot in the abdomen area and died about two hours later at Christ Medical Center, authorities said.

Kwonte Hughes, 17, of the 6800 block of South Carpenter Street, was charged with murder and ordered held on $1 million bond Saturday.

In the Grand Boulevard community, 44-year-old Reginald Boston was stabbed in the chest at a home in the 300 block of East 48th Street about 6 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Boston, of the 3500 block of West 74th Street, died about an hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed Boston died from multiple stab wounds and the death was ruled a homicide, but police said "all parties involved" remained on scene and no charges were pending.

On Wednesday, police found the bodies of Matthew Stanton, 28, and Peter Robert Costello, 17, inside the bedroom of a home in the 4100 block of West 63rd Street in Chicago Lawn about 4:15 p.m., authorities said.

Police called the deaths a murder-suicide and an autopsy confirmed died from a stab wound to his chest and the death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner’s office. Costello, 17, died from a gunshot wound to the head and his death was ruled a suicide.

Both men lived on the block, according to the medical examiner’s office. The relationship between the two was not immediately known.

Additionally, 21-year-old Kevin Roberson died Tuesday morning from injuries suffered when he was shot in the neck in the 7200 block of South Artesian Avenue about 4:15 p.m. May 17, authorities said. An autopsy ruled the death a homicide.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 358 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including 14 people killed by police.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different by following federal guidelines, have ruled some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Joshua Grayer, Jermaine Powell charged with murder in Austin shooting death of Denzell Franklin

Michael Lansu — Sun, 26 Oct 2014 21:54:13 -0500

Joshua Grayer / Photo from Chicago Police

Two West Side men have been charged with murder in the Friday night shooting death of Denzell Franklin in the Austin community.

Franklin, 23, was standing with another man in a yard in the 5500 block of West Corcoran Place when Joshua Grayer and Jermaine Powell approached and at least one of them opened fire from a sidewalk about 10 p.m. Friday, authorities said.

Franklin, of an unidentified home address, was shot in the face and armpit and died at the scene, authorities said.

Another man, 24, walked to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park with a gunshot wound to the arm, police said.

Officers took the two suspects into custody after the shooting, police said.

Jermaine Powell / Photo from Chicago Police

Both Grayer, 19, of the 1200 block of South St. Louis Avenue, and Powell, 19, of the 5900 block of West Huron Street, were each charged with first-degree murder and two counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, police said.

Both men are expected to appear in court Monday for a bond hearing.

-- Homicide Watch Chicago and Sun-Times Media Wire