Charles Jones | Homicide Watch Chicago

Angelo Bennett sentenced to 45 years in deadly road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager

Michael Lansu — Wed, 27 May 2015 16:55:24 -0500

Angelo Bennett / Photo from Cook County sheriff's office

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Angelo Bennett said all he’s ever wanted to do since he was charged with murdering a gentlemen’s club manager was apologize to the slain man’s family.

He got his chance on Wednesday.

“I pray for your forgiveness,” Angelo Bennett said, looking toward Charles E. Jones’ friends and relatives. “Sincerely from the depths of my being, I am sorry.”

Before Bennett was sentenced to 45 years in prison for killing Jones and wounding Jones’ fiancee, Jones’ cousin read a victim-impact statement written by Jones’ mother.

In the statement, Jones was described as a “gentle giant” and caring “mama’s boy” who respected women while Bennett was characterized as “deceitful,” a “menace” and “bad seed.”

Jones’ fiancee Kathy Bias said since the incident May 26, 2013, she can’t close her eyes without seeing Bennett chase and try to kill her as he did after a traffic dispute on Goose Island.

Bias said she feels lost without 42-year-old Jones, a “hero” who she had hoped to start a family with.

“You didn’t only put a hole in my back,” Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Paul Joyce said, reading Bias’ statement. “You put a hole in my heart.”

Judge Carol Howard said Jones may have initiated the physical altercation after his Maserati and Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse collided. But the fight had ended before Bennett decided to grab his .38-caliber revolver and shoot Bennett in the face and Bias in the back.

Bennett, 26, did not act in self-defense, the judge said, reiterating her ruling in Bennett’s bench trial in March.

Bennett’s mom stood by her son’s story while she defended him on the stand Wednesday.

“You did nothing wrong,” Geneva Bennett said, sobbing. “You wanted to live.”

“He’s a murderer,” one of Bennett’s relatives said under his breath as Geneva Bennett denied her son was a trigger-happy “thug.”

During his trial, Bennett said he initially tried exchanging information with Jones after a fender-bender but said Jones waved him off.

Bennett then drove away to the 1000 block of North Branch Street because he didn’t want officers investigating the crash to find the gun he had in the car.

Jones and Bias drove after Bennett. When Bennett’s friend asked to be let out of the Buick, Bennett hid his gun underneath another parked car.

Jones had physically attacked Bennett, but he eventually let Bennett go, according to court testimony. Still, Bennett was so incensed that Jones had confronted him, he went to get his gun and fired at the two victims without warning, prosecutors said.

Angelo Bennett convicted of murder in road rage shooting of gentleman's club manager Charles Jones

Michael Lansu — Tue, 31 Mar 2015 19:19:34 -0500

Angelo Bennett / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

An Austin man was convicted Tuesday of gunning down a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager and wounding the victim’s fiancée after a traffic dispute on Goose Island.

Charles E. Jones’ friends and family applauded when Cook County Judge Carol Howard found Angelo Bennett guilty of murder and attempted murder for the May 26, 2013, incident.

Bennett claimed he shot Jones in self defense.

The judge said Jones, 42, shouldn’t have beaten Bennett in the head after Jones’ Maserati and Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse collided, but she believed the fight was over when Bennett decided to grab his .38-caliber revolver and shoot Jones twice in the face, killing him.

Bennett, 26, testified earlier Tuesday he was “terrified” of the burly Jones and only fired to protect his “smaller” friend who was with him.

Bennett, who was a manager of two Chicago-area Jimmy Johns, said he did not know how Jones’ fiancée, Kathy Bias, ended up with a gunshot wound to her back as she tried to drive away in Jones’ car.

But Assistant State’s Attorney Paul Joyce said Bennett intentionally aimed at Bias because he didn’t want any witnesses to the crime.

Bias, now 46, survived and testified during the two-day trial.

Bennett said he initially tried exchanging information with Jones after the fender-bender but said Jones waved him off, screaming, “Get that out of my face. This is a $70,000 car.”

Bennett then drove away to the 1000 block of North Branch Street because he didn’t want officers investigating the crash to find the gun he had in the car, according to court testimony.

Jones and Bias drove after Bennett, and when Bennett’s friend asked to be let out of the Buick, Bennett took his gun and hid it underneath another parked car.

Soon, Bennett said, Jones grabbed him by the collar and started attacking him with a metal object.

Jones eventually let Bennett go. But Bennett was so humiliated that he was roughed up by Jones, he retrieved his gun and shot Jones and Bias without warning, prosecutors said.

Lawyer: Driver acted in self defense in fatal road rage shooting

John Carpenter — Fri, 31 May 2013 16:01:44 -0500

Angelo Bennett's attorney said this photo shows the injury Bennett sustained in an altercation with Charles E. Jones. Bennett, charged with Jones' murder, says he acted in self defense.

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN, Chicago Sun-Times Criminal Courts Reporter

A Lake View man acted in selfdefense when he shot and killed a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager and injured the man’s fiancee in a road rage incident over the weekend, the alleged gunman’s lawyer argued Friday.

Angelo Bennett was grabbed in a headlock, choked and hit so hard he ended up with a gaping gash on top of his head, defense attorney John Miraglia said. Charles E. Jones “initiated the violence” following a minor accident in Goose Island involving Bennett, Miraglia said after Bennett, 24, was ordered held without bail for Sunday’s incident.

Jones was so irritated his Maserati was damaged he “assailed my client. He split his head open,” Miraglia told Cook County Judge Israel Desierto.

But prosecutors said it was Bennett who let the best of temper get him and shot 42yearold Jones twice in the head before aiming for Jones’ fiancee as she tried to flee in the luxury vehicle in the 1000 block of North Branch.

The 44-year-old woman, who was shot in the back, still has a bullet lodged in her vertebrae, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

Bennett’s friend even refused to get in the back into Bennett’s Buick LaCrosse following the shootings, Santini said. He allegedly walked away while Bennett drove off with his weapon.

Just before the shooting began, Bennett and Jones, a manager at The Factory Chicago, had pulled over after Bennett’s car sideswiped Jones’ vehicle on Division, authorities said. Jones’ fiancee, meanwhile, called 911.
After a brief discussion with Jones, prosecutors said Bennett ran back to his car and fled the scene with his friend inside.

The friend, who is in the military, asked to be let out of the car, and Bennett eventually pulled over and the pair got out, Santini said.

Miraglia denied that his client drove away, saying that his tires were blown out as a result of the accident, making it impossible for him to peel away.

However, the defense attorney did concede his client hid a loaded silver revolver under another parked car. Miraglia explained because “alcohol” was a factor in the minor wreck, Bennett didn’t want to get into further trouble with authorities.

“It was bad decision,” Miraglia said of his client’s choice to have a gun.
“We do live in Chicago,” Bennett’s sister Alexandra Elias later said, telling reporters that her brother had a gun for protection.

Prosecutors said the weapon was used for shooting innocent people instead.

When Jones and his fiancee came upon Bennett again as they made their way to the nearest police station to report the accident, Jones got out and he and Bennett got into a “brief physical altercation,” Santini said.

At some point, Bennett broke away, retrieved his gun and began shooting, Santini said.
Bennett was identified by Jones’ fiancee and his friend told police he had seen Bennett fire his weapon at the two victims, Santini said.

Bennett, a Near North College Preparatory graduate who manages two Chicagoarea Jimmy Johns, allegedly admitted to police he dismantled the murder weapon and tossed the parts over a rooftop and a bridge.

After Friday’s bond hearing, Elias chastised the media for portraying her brother as an “animal” and told reporters he was a “good kid” full of charm and humor.

Miraglia, who gave reporters a picture of his client with an apparent injury to his head, said Bennett’s friend believes Bennett was in fear for his life when he opened fire.

“These are good kids [Bennett and his friend],” Miraglia said.

Lake View man charged with killing gentleman’s club manager

Sun-Times Media Wire — Fri, 31 May 2013 10:22:33 -0500

A Lake View man was charged with murder Thursday for allegedly fatally shooting a Far South Side gentleman’s club manager outside a sports car after an early Sunday fender bender on the Near North Side.

Angelo Bennett, 24, of the 4300 block of North Ashland Avenue, was charged with one count each of first-degree murder, aggravated battery / discharge of a firearm and attempted first-degree murder, police said.

Bennett is accused of killing Charles Jones, the manager of a Far South Side gentleman’s club, and wounding a woman inside the sports car he was driving during an early Sunday shooting in the Goose Island area.

The shooting started about 2:50 a.m., after a 2005 Buick LaCrosse sideswiped a Maserati in the 1000 block of North Branch Street on the Near North Side, police said.

The driver of the Maserati, 42-year-old gentleman’s club manager Charles Jones, was shot dead, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Jones was a manager of The Factory Chicago, a gentleman’s club in the 12000 block of South Doty Avenue, a police source said. The club posted on its Twitter account Sunday morning, “God called his soldier home … R.I.P. Charles Jones.”

Jones had pulled over after the crash and got out of the sports car to talk to the driver of the Buick, police said.

The driver of the Buick and a passenger then exited the car, walked over to another vehicle and came back to the Maserati, police said. One of them then opened fire on Jones and a 44-year-old woman inside the Maserati.

Jones was shot in the head and a 44-year-old woman in the passenger’s seat was struck in the back or hip, authorities said. Jones was declared dead at 3:33 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the woman was taken in “stable” condition, authorities said.

Jones was driving a car with Texas license plates, but apparently lived on the Near North Side, a police source said. However, the medical examiner’s office listed his home address as Miami.

Bennett is scheduled to appear in bond court Friday, police said.

6 dead, 23 wounded in holiday weekend violence

Sun-Times Media Wire — Tue, 28 May 2013 09:25:41 -0500

Six people were killed and at least 23 wounded in violence across Chicago since Friday evening.

Chicago police said the weekend’s gun violence represents a significant drop compared with Memorial Day Weekend in 2012, when shootings throughout the city killed 10 people and hurt 47 others.

The most recent fatal shooting happened early Sunday in the Goose Island area on the city’s Near North Side.

Charles Jones, 42, the manager of a Far South Side gentleman’s club, was shot to death in a confrontation with another motorist, whose 2005 Buick LaCrosse sideswiped Jones’ Maserati, police said.

Jones was shot about 2:50 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Branch Street and a 42-year-old woman in his car was wounded, police sad. Authorities said Jones lived in the 1100 block of North Dearborn in Chicago and also had a home in the 2900 block of Indian Creek Drive in Miami, Fla.

When Jones pulled over to talk to the driver of the Buick, the driver and a passenger the car, walked to another vehicle and then came back. One of them had a gun and shot Jones, police said. Jones was declared dead at 3:33 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The woman with Jones was shot in the back or hip and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police said. Area Central detectives and the police Major Accident Investigation Unit were investigating, but nobody was in custody.

About 2:10 a.m. Sunday, Malcolm Dobbey, 27, was shot to death in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side. Police officers had responded to a call of a disturbance in the 12100 block of South Indiana Avenue and, while dealing with the disturbance, found a man unresponsive in a backyard.

Dobbey, of the 600 block of East 92nd Street, was pronounced dead at 3:20 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the medical examiner’s office. Area South detectives questioned a “person of interest” in the fatal shooting, but that person was later released without being charged.

Two other men were shot to death in separate shootings Saturday on the South Side.

Ferro Denard, 18, was shot in the head during a possible drive-by in the 7300 block of South Dorchester about 9:20 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Denard, who lived on the block, was dead on the scene.

About 1:50 a.m. Saturday, Gregory Dixon, 29, was shot to death about half a mile from President Barack Obama’s Kenwood neighborhood home. Dixon buzzed the gunmen into an apartment building in the 1400 block of East 52nd Street, authorities said. The attackers then entered a unit through a door left ajar and shot Dixon in the chest and back. Dixon was dead on the scene, authorities said.

Two men were shot to death Friday night in separate shootings on the West Side.

About 11:45 p.m. Friday, Tevin Kirkman, 22, was found shot outside his home in the 1100 block of North Lawndale, authorities said. He was pronounced dead at 12:20 a.m. at Mount Sinai Hospital.

About 11 p.m. Friday, Leetema Daniels, 17, was shot in the head and died at the scene in the 400 block of North Central in the Austin neighborhood. An 18-year-old man was shot in the chest in that incident and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital.

At least 21 others have been wounded in violence throughout the city since Friday night.

Gentleman’s club manager shot to death after crash in Goose Island area: police

John Carpenter — Mon, 27 May 2013 02:29:02 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU Staff Reporter

The manager of a Far South Side gentleman’s club was shot to death early Sunday in a confrontation with another motorist who sideswiped his Maserati in the
Goose Island area, police said.
Charles Jones, 42, was shot about 2:50 a.m. in the 1000 block of North Branch Street, police said. A 42yearold woman in his car was wounded.
Jones was a manager of the Factory Chicago, a gentleman’s club in the 12000 block of South Doty, a police source said.
A 2005 Buick LaCrosse sideswiped the Maserati, and Jones pulled over to talk to the driver, police said. When Jones got out of his car, the Buick’s driver and a
passenger left their car and walked over to another vehicle.
The two men came back, one armed with a gun, and shot Jones in the head, police said. Jones was declared dead at 3:33 a.m. at Northwestern Memorial Hospital,
according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office. The woman with Jones was shot in the back or hip and taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, police
said.
The men got back in the Buick and headed south through the industrial area.
The Factory Chicago posted on its Twitter account, “God called his soldier home . . . R.I.P. Charles Jones.”
Authorities said Jones lived in the 1100 block of North Dearborn in Chicago and also had a home in the 2900 block of Indian Creek Drive in Miami, Fla.
Two of Jones’ cousins, who asked not to be named, visited the gated gentleman’s club Sunday afternoon. They said the club, which had a “revoked” sign on the
door, had been closed for a few weeks, possibly because of flooding.
Nobody answered the phone at the Factory Chicago, and representatives did not respond to email requests for comment.
The cousins described Jones as a “businessman” who also had a club in Miami.
Area Central detectives and the police Major Accident Investigation Unit were investigating, but nobody was in custody.
Jones was among six people reported killed in gun violence this weekend in Chicago.