WEEK IN REVIEW: 2016 closes with at least 780 homicides in Chicago, and three more reported on first day of new year

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 05 Jan 2017 11:52:09 -0600

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Chicago Sun-Times file photo

The calendar turned from 2016 to 2017, and the temperatures took a downward spike, but nothing seemed to slow the pace of the killings in CHicago, as at least 13 people were killed in violence last week in Chicago.

The year ended with at least 780 homicides (762 by the Chicago Police method of counting) in Chicago, according to Chicago Sun-Times records. Another 12 people died in 2016 of injuries suffered in shootings or assaults in prior years, and another 11 were killed by police officers.

That was the highest total in more than 20 years. And the first day of 2017 saw another three fatal shootings, including two men who apparently shot each other to death inside a North Side business.

The shootout Sunday morning in an Uptown neighborhood business left Maurice Delaney and Ali Mohamed dead, the first reported homicides of 2017, authorities said. The men were shooting at each other about 4:25 a.m. New Year’s Day inside a business in the 4600 block of North Broadway, according to police.

Delaney, 38, of north suburban Skokie, was shot in the chest and leg, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Mohamed, 31, who lived on the North Side, was shot multiple times in his right side. Both were taken to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where they were pronounced dead less than an hour later.

Another man was shot to death Sunday morning in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. At 5:53 a.m., officers responded to a call of a person down in the 4600 block of West Monroe. They found 39-year-old John Warship lying on the ground with multiple gunshot wounds, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was pronounced dead at the scene, just blocks from his home.
The last homicide of 2016 was a woman was killed in a domestic stabbing Saturday afternoon in Princeton Park, an attack which left another woman critically wounded. The attack happened at 2:08 p.m. in the 9300 block of South Wentworth, according to police. Sylvia Brice, 52, was stabbed multiple times and was taken to University of Illinois Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, according to the medical examiner’s office. She lived on the same block as the attack. A 30-year-old woman suffered multiple stab wounds to the abdomen, and was taken in critical condition to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.
A 22-year-old man was shot to death during an argument after a crash on New Year's Eve in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side. Kenneth Weaver was driving at 12:29 p.m. in the 4800 block of West Chicago when a Mercedes sideswiped his vehicle, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Someone got out of the Mercedes and began arguing with Weaver, then pulled out a gun and shot him in the left side, police said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A 15-year-old boy was shot to death Friday night in the South Side Gresham neighborhood. Officers responded to a report of shots fired at 9:40 p.m. and found 15-year-old Gregory Livingston III with gunshot wounds to his head in an alley in the 8100 block of South Bishop, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Livingston was pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn less than an hour later.
A man with a concealed-carry license fatally shot a would-be robber in the Chatham neighborhood on the South Side Friday afternoon, according to police. The 23-year-old was walking in the 8200 block of South Ingleside about 1:54 p.m. when a 19-year-old man pulled a gun and tried to rob him, police said.A fight broke out, and the 23-year-old, who was license to carry a firearm, pulled out his own gun and shot the would-be robber in the head, police said. The 19-year-old, identified as Andre D. Lacaze, was pronounced dead at the scene. He lived in west suburban Riverside.
A second attempted robber ran away after his companion was fatally shot. The 23-year-old was shot in the hip during the fight and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized. The older man will not face criminal charges, police said.
Another man fatally shot a teenager who attempted to rob him Friday afternoon in West Garfield Park, according to police. The 33-year-old man was in the 4800 block of West Ferdinand to purchase something he saw for sale online when he was confronted by a 19-year-old who announced a robbery and showed a gun, police said. A struggle ensued, and the 19-year-old was shot in the chest about 12:25 p.m.The man, identified as Carlos James, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital and pronounced dead an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the same block as the shooting. Police said the 33-year-old man suffered bruises during the struggle, and that a single gun was recovered at the scene. No charges have been filed in that case.
A man was found dead Friday morning from an assault in the Sleepy Hollow neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Louis Pena, 64, was found with trauma to the front of his head at 9:20 a.m. in the office trailer of a trucking firm he owned in the 4200 block of South Keating, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Officers were initially called to a report of a person shot and said Pena was shot twice in the head, police said. But an autopsy on Saturday showed he died of multiple blunt force and sharp force injuries from an assault. No one was in custody.
A man was fatally shot Wednesday night in the Washington Park neighborhood on the South Side. Matthew L. Herring, 32, was in front of a housing complex in the 6200 block of South Indiana when at least one person walked up and shot him in the head about 8:45 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Herring, who lived on the same block, was pronounced dead at the scene.
An Urban Prep Academy student was fatally shot while leaving a dance competition in Austin on Wednesday night. Yuri Hardy, 19, was the fourth Urban Prep student or alumnus to be shot to death in Chicago in 2016, according to a letter to the school community from founder and president Tim King. Hardy was walking in the 100 block of North Central just before 8 p.m. when he was shot, according to police. He was unresponsive when officers arrived and was pronounced dead Thursday at Mount Sinai Hospital.
A man was shot to death Tuesday afternoon in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood on the South Side. Christopher D. Brown, 23, was walking at 5:08 p.m. in the 6400 block of South King Drive when two people walked up and fired several shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Brown suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene.
A man shot Monday evening in the Back of the Yards neighborhood died about five hours later. At 5:51 p.m., Jamil Shuaibi, 25, was walking in the 4400 block of South Hermitage when someone got out of a vehicle and fired shots, striking him multiple times, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he died at 10:30 p.m.

Police: Carlos James shot to death while trying to rob a man in West Garfield Park

Jeff Mayes — Sat, 31 Dec 2016 11:58:12 -0600

Chicago Police say 19-year-old Carlos James was fatally shot by a man he attempted to rob Friday afternoon in the West Garfield Park neighborhood.

The 33-year-old man was in the 4800 block of West Ferdinand to purchase something he saw for sale online. He was confronted by the teen, who announced a robbery and showed a gun, police said. A struggle ensued, and James was shot in the chest about 12:25 p.m., according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Jame, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:30 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the same block as the shooting.

Police said the older man suffered bruises during the struggle, and that a single gun was recovered at the scene. Area North detectives were investigating.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Carlos James | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: 2016 closes with at least 780 homicides in Chicago, and three more reported on first day of new year

Police: Carlos James shot to death while trying to rob a man in West Garfield Park