WEEK IN REVIEW: 13 killed in violence, including two accidental shootings

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Nov 2017 09:57:24 -0600

At least 13 people died from violence the week of October 23-29 in Chicago. The victims included 10 people who where fatally shot, including two who police said were killed in "accidental" shootings.

The homicides considered accidental by police were the shootings of a 16-year-old girl and a 21-year-old woman, police said.

Eshunte Mayfield | Facebook

The girl, identified as Eshani Mayfield, died less than 30 minutes after an acquaintance was handling a gun and it accidentally discharged, stirking Mayfield in the eye Sunday evening in Woodlawn, police said.

Three people have been charged in connection with the shooting that killed the Amundsen High School cheerleader. Joshua Baker, 19, who lives on the same block, was charged with one felony count of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence from the shooting, according to Chicago Police. Baker was released on his own recognizance.

A 16-year-old girl, whose identity was not released, was charged as a juvenile with involuntary manslaughter and unlawful possession of a firearm, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. SHe is the one who was allegedly holding the gun when it went off. A 17-year-old boy was charged as a juvenile with obstructing justice and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, according to prosecutors. Both teens were ordered held in custody until their next hearing Dec. 1, according to the state’s attorney’s office.

A 21-year-old woman also died of an accidental gunshot in the Portage Park neighborhood, police said.

Nadia Manjarrez | Facebook

About 10 p.m. Saturday night, 21-year-old Nadia Manjarrez and a 37-year-old man were inside a home in the 4800 block of West Hutchinson when the gun went off, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Manjarrez, who lived in the neighborhood, was shot in the head and was taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead.

Manjarrez was a 2014 graduate of Round Lake High School. An autopsy did not rule on her cause and manner of death, with results pending further investigation, the medical examiner’s office said.

The gun was recovered and the man, whom friends said was Manjarrez’ boyfriend, was initially detained for questioning, police said. He was later released without charges as Area North detectives continue to investigate.

Other homicides last week included:

Two men were shot to death Friday morning in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side. Just after 10 a.m., the victims were in a vehicle in the 3400 block of West Augusta, according to police. A person walked up to the vehicle and engaged them in conversation, then started firing shots. Kenta Ali Holifield, 39, was shot multiple times in the chest and head, and was found inside the vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Holifield, an Indianapolis resident, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Lonnie Hartman, 31, was shot multiple times and was found in the street, police said. Hartman, a West Side Austin neighborhood resident, was taken to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead. Autopsies found both men died of multiple gunshot wounds.

A man was fatally stabbed by another man Friday morning at their shared home in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side. About 5 a.m., Robert Gant, 53, was arguing with his 52-year-old roommate in the 100 block of West 115th Street when the younger man stabbed him multiple times, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Gant was pronounced dead at the scene. Jerome Flagg was later charged with murder and ordered held without bond. Gant was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 15-year-old boy was killed and a 14-year-old boy seriously wounded in a shooting Thursday afternoon in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. They were struck when shots were fired at 3:36 p.m. in the 2500 block of West 45th Street, according to police. The two boys ran away after the shooting, and the number of shooters was unknown. The 15-year-old, identified as Jeyson Gonzalez of West Englewood, was shot in the side and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died. The 14-year-old was shot in the lower back and was taken in serious condition to Stroger.
A 46-year-old man was shot to death Thursday morning in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side. About 10:25 a.m., Jose Saraseume was standing outside in the 2500 block of North Lockwood when someone in a black hoodie walked up and fired two shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Saraseume was shot in the head and was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead. He lived on the same block where he was shot.
A 40-year-old man was fatally shot early Thursday in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on the South Side. About 2:10 a.m., Darnell Mitchell was standing in an alley in the 9600 block of South Euclid when someone approached and fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Mitchell, who lived on the same block, suffered three gunshot wounds to the torso, one to the head and one to the buttocks, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
A 19-year-old man was killed in a Washington Park neighborhood drive-by shooting Wednesday afternoon on the South Side. Tremell L. Stornes Jr. was standing outside about 2:45 p.m. in the 5200 block of South Cottage Grove when a silver or gray car drove by and someone inside fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Stornes was shot in the head and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He lived about a block from where he was shot.
An attempted robbery Tuesday night in the South Side Englewood neighborhood led to an exchange of gunfire that left one the suspected robbers dead and another man wounded, according to police. About 8 p.m., a 22-year-old man and two other people were in the rear of a building in the 1500 block of West 71st Street when they were approached by two suspects, according to police. They tried to rob the group, and shots were fired. The 23-year-old alleged suspect, identified as Robert Ward, was shot on the left side of his body, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Family members disputed the claim that Ward tried to rob someone, saying he was in his aunt's backyard when someone ran up and shot him. Ward was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. He lived on the same block where the shooting happened. The 22-year-old was shot in the leg and his condition has stabilized.
A 53-year-old man died Tuesday, nearly two years after he was wounded in a shooting at a South Deering neighborhood bar on the Far South Side. At 11:19 p.m. on Dec. 17, 2015, Alfredo Hernandez and a 47-year-old man were at Frank's Tap & Grill in the 9600 block of South Commercial, according to police and the medical examiner's office. A man with a gun came into the bar and fired several shots. Hernandez was struck in the abdomen, underarm and back; and the 47-year-old was shot in the right side of the abdomen. Hernandez was taken in serious condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn after the shooting, and the other victim was taken to Trinity Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. Hernandez, of South Chicago, died Tuesday at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. An autopsy Thursday found he died of delayed complications from the gunshot wound to the torso. No arrests were ever made in the shooting.
A 17-year-old boy was shot to death Monday afternoon in South Chicago. Johnson Liggins Jr.was walking outside near East 80th and Coles about 2:35 p.m. when two people walked past and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Liggins was shot in the head and chest, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. An autopsy found he died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A 19-year-old woman who was shot multiple times during a Roseland neighborhood home invasion and shooting that killed four other people last year died Monday. Shakeyah Jackson died at 6:54 p.m. Monday at Oaklawn Respiratory and Rehabilitation Center, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office. She had been in a coma since the shooting. The home invasion was a botched robbery of a drug dealer that happened Dec. 17, 2016 in the 100 block of West 105th Street, prosecutors said earlier this year. Lionel Parks, 29, visited Elijah Jackson's home twice that day, chatting with Jackson and smoking marijuana with him, prosecutors said. When he returned a third time that day, Parks and an unnamed friend were armed with handguns and forced their way inside. They ordered the occupants to lay facedown on the floor as they ransacked the house for guns and drugs. Before leaving, Parks and the second gunman executed Elijah Jackson; his pregnant sister, Shacora Jackson; Shacora's 19-year-old daughter, Nateyah Yafah Hines; and 46-year-old Scott Travis Thompson, according to prosecutors. Thompson's 22-year-old nephew survived by playing dead as he lay on the floor beside his uncle. Parks remains held without bond at the Cook County Jail.

—Homicide Watch Chicago

Two people charged after Amundsen High School student Eshunte Mayfield 'accidentally' shot to death in Woodlawn

Jeff Mayes — Tue, 31 Oct 2017 12:31:06 -0500

By JEFF MAYES and JACOB WITTICH
Chicago Sun-Times

Eshunte Mayfield | Facebook

Two people have been charged in what police called an "accidental" shooting that left 16-year-old Amundsen High School cheerleader Eshunte Mayfield dead Sunday evening in the Woodlawn neighborhood on the South Side.

Joshua Baker, who lives in the same block as the shooting, was charged with one felony count of obstruction of justice for destroying evidence, according to Chicago Police. It was unclear what evidence Baker was accused of destroying.

The second person, a 16-year-old girl whose identity was not released, was charged with a felony count of involuntary manslaughter, police said.

Joshua Baker | Chicago Police photo

Mayfield was shot at 6:57 p.m. when the 16-year-old girl, who police said was Mayfield's "acquaintance," was handling a gun inside an apartment in the 6600 block of South Marquette, and it accidentally fired.

Mayfield was struck in the eye and was pronounced dead at the scene less than 30 minutes later. The Cook County medical examiner's office initially identified her as Eshani Mayfield, but the school's website listed her as Eshunte.

A police car is seen in the 6600 block of South Marquette on Sunday evening, where a 16-year-old girl was accidentally shot to death by an acquaintance, Chicago Police said. | Jon Seidel/Chicago Sun-Times

The girl who was handling the gun when it fired was immediately taken into custody, police said. Baker was inside the house at the time and turned himself in at the Wentworth Police District Headquarters about 10:10 p.m.

Both were scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday.

In a note to students, staff and parents of Amundsen, principal Anna Pavichevich wrote: "It is with deep sadness that we inform you about a recent loss to our school community. Eshunte Mayfield passed away last night. Our thoughts are with her family during this difficult time."

The Chicago Public Schools' Crisis Management Unit was at Amundsen on Monday "to provide grief counseling and support to students and staff members. These individuals will be in the building over the next several days to assist our school community," Pavichevich wrote.

Mayfield lived in the Uptown neighborhood on the North Side.

An autopsy Monday found she died of a gunshot wound to the head, and her death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner's office.

A source said four teens were in the apartment at the time, two boys and two girls.

"We are saddened by this loss and will do everything we can to help ...," Pavichevich wrote.

Joshua Baker | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: 13 killed in violence, including two accidental shootings

Two people charged after Amundsen High School student Eshunte Mayfield 'accidentally' shot to death in Woodlawn