18-year-old charged with chasing Pamela Johnson to her death on Lake Shore Drive ordered held on $500K bond

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 06 Jun 2016 15:06:37 -0500

By ANDY GRIMM
Chicago Sun-Times

Semaj Waters | Chicago Police

An 18-year-old man accused of murder in the death of Pamela Johnson, a woman he allegedly chased into Lake Shore Drive traffic during a robbery attempt, has been ordered held on a $500,000 bond.

Cook County prosecutors allege Semaj Waters was in a group of seven or eight men who tried to rob Johnson and her boyfriend, Eugene Jackson, then chased the couple into traffic near Ohio Street.

“There is just enough probable cause here for me to find that something went on, and this individual was involved,” Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said, addressing Waters’ father and a group of a half-dozen other relatives in the courtroom gallery.

“You cannot deny the fact that a woman is now deceased, a mother … people loved her,” the judge said, looking toward members of Johnson’s family seated at the opposite corner of the gallery.

Pamela Johnson | photo provided

Outside the courthouse, Waters’ father said his son didn’t run off after the crash, and sat along the concrete barrier within a few feet of Johnson, 32, as she lay in the roadway, asking police whether they would take her to the hospital.

Andrew Holmes, a community activist who is related to Johnson, said her family is satisfied that Waters is no threat if he is able to make bond, and are content to let the case move forward. Holmes called on the others who were out with Waters that night to turn themselves in.

Waters is charged with murder, mob action and attempted robbery. Both Johnson and Jackson were struck by the truck as they tried to run across several lanes of traffic near Ohio Street at around 1:30 a.m. Johnson, the mother of a 12-year-old son, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.

Jackson and Johnson grew nervous as they watched Waters and two other men walking behind them on the lakefront, Assistant State’s Attorney Anna Sedelmaier said Saturday. Waters and the other, unnamed men walked back to a larger group of people, and the couple decided if Waters and the others came back, they would flee across Lake Shore Drive.

Someone in Waters’ group shouted “we have a runner” and the group chased after them, authorities said.

Jackson said he saw Waters holding a gun as Jackson and Johnson climbed over the barrier. Surveillance cameras on a building on the west side of Lake Shore Drive showed Waters walking with the group that chased Jackson and Johnson. Video evidence also showed Waters walking away “for several minutes” after Johnson was struck, authorities said.

Police last week said they were questioning two adults and four teenagers in connection with Johnson’s death and had released CTA surveillance photos form the Chicago Avenue Red Line stop, showing the group of men who allegedly were involved in the robbery attempt, filmed shortly after the fatal crash.

Jackson claimed at least one member of the group had flashed a gun before he and Johnson climbed over a barrier at the side of Lakeshore Drive. The truck struck both Jackson and Johnson, though Jackson was not seriously injured. The group that had threatened the couple scattered, bolting across Lakeshore after a CPD officer in a passing squad car flashed his emergency lights.

Police said the video supported Jackson’s account of the incident, and shows the couple was approached by a group of seven or eight men before the fatal accident.

Jackson said he and Johnson were sitting near Lake Michigan, enjoying the warm weather as they discussed their future together. The couple made frequent trips to the lakefront from their South Side neighborhood.

Man charged with murder for chasing Pamela Johnson onto Lake Shore Drive, where she was struck by pickup

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 03 Jun 2016 14:26:58 -0500

By FRANK MAIN, ASHLEE REZIN and JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times

Pamela Johnson | photo provided

An 18-year-old man has been charged with the murder of Pamela Johnson, who was fatally struck by a pickup as she and her boyfriend attempted to flee an armed robbery by running across Lake Shore Drive last weekend in the Gold Coast.

Semaj Waters was charged Friday with with felony murder, mob action and attempted armed robbery, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office. He will appear in bond court on Saturday.

Police on Thursday were questioning two adults and four teenagers in the death of the 32-year-old Johnson, who was killed early Sunday morning in the 600 block of North Lake Shore Drive in the Gold Coast neighborhood.

Waters was the only person charged on Friday, but prosecutors and Chicago Police said the investigation is ongoing.

Semaj Waters | Chicago Police

On Tuesday, the department released CTA surveillance photos of the group of men who allegedly threatened to hold up Johnson and her boyfriend, 43-year-old Eugene Jackson, on the lakefront. The photos were taken in the Red Line stop at Chicago Avenue after the incident, police said.

At least one of the men was carrying a gun when they chased the couple onto Lake Shore Drive, according to Jackson.

That’s when the truck struck and killed Johnson — mother of a 12-year-old boy — in the southbound lane. A Chicago Police officer flashed his emergency lights at the pursuing men, who crossed Lake Shore Drive and ran west, police said.

Jackson wasn’t seriously injured.

“We have a pretty good idea of who the offenders are,” Anthony Guglielmi, chief spokesman for the Chicago Police Department, said Thursday. “We received community tips.”

There are a total of 11 suspects depicted in the surveillance photos. | Chicago Police

Police said the video supported Jackson’s account of the incident. It shows the couple was approached by a group of seven or eight men before the fatal accident, Guglielmi said.

Jackson said the couple were sitting near Lake Michigan about 1:30 a.m. discussing their future and enjoying the balmy weather when a group of “menacing young men” approached them.

They had previously trekked from their South Side neighborhood to the picturesque setting “a thousand times” to watch the runners, cyclists and boats, he said, adding it was the first time they felt afraid there.

The men left, then started to approach the couple again, quickly. The couple ran to North Lake Shore Drive near Huron Street and hurdled the concrete barrier to escape.

They safely crossed the northbound lane. But as they looked back, they saw the men at the same barrier—and at least one of them had a gun. Johnson was struck by a pickup as she darted into the southbound lane, Jackson said.

Semaj Waters | Homicide Watch Chicago

18-year-old charged with chasing Pamela Johnson to her death on Lake Shore Drive ordered held on $500K bond

Man charged with murder for chasing Pamela Johnson onto Lake Shore Drive, where she was struck by pickup