Chevonne Brown | Homicide Watch Chicago

No bond for man charged with shooting mother, son

John Carpenter — Sun, 11 Aug 2013 20:35:17 -0500

Bond was denied for a second man charged in connection with the murder of a mother and her 5-year-old son last June.
Larry Cox, 28, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder in connection with the shooting deaths of 31-year-old Chavonne Brown and her son, Sterling Sims, police said. Cox, of the 1400 block of West 85th Street, was also charged with violating parole.
Brown and her son were shot to death in their home in the 5300 block of South Winchester Avenue on June 28.
Cox is scheduled to appear in court again Monday.
On Aug. 2, 18-year-old Antonio Lewis was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder in connection with the two murders. Lewis attempted to shoot Brown’s second son, an 11-year-old, but his weapon malfunctioned, police said. Lewis was shot later that day and remains hospitalized.
- Sun-Times Media Wire

Larry Cox

Man charged with killing mother, 5-year-old son, remains hospitalized

John Carpenter — Fri, 02 Aug 2013 10:22:05 -0500

An 18-year-old man was charged Thursday with the June double murder of a mother and her five-year-old son in the South Side Back of the Yards neighborhood, but remains hospitalized due to injuries he suffered in a separate shooting less than 24 hours after the murder, police said.

Antonio Lewis, of the 5500 block of South Winchester Avenue, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, according to police News Affairs.

Five-year-old Sterling Sims and his mother Chevonne Brown, 31, were shot inside a house in the 5300 block of South Winchester Avenue about 2:40 a.m. June 28, police said.
Lewis attempted to shoot Brown’s second son, an 11-year-old, when his weapon malfunctioned, police said.

Relatives said Brown lived with her mother until about three months ago when she moved in with a boyfriend who lives on the block where the murders occurred.

Doris Sims, the boy’s paternal grandmother, called Sterling “a really nice kid.”

She said her daughter was a dedicated mother who put her children first.

“She loved her kids,” Doris Sims said. “Anytime you’d see her she was with her kids.”
About 9:10 p.m. the same day, Lewis was shot in the groin, back and neck while standing on a sidewalk in the 2800 block of West Arthington Street, authorities said. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital.

Lewis remains hospitalized and will not appear in bond court, police said.

He was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance in December 2012, records show.

A month before, he was also was arrested on another drug charge, unlawful use of a weapon and not having a firearm owner ID card.

--Sun-Times Media Wire, Sun-Times

Police: Man shot on West Side Friday is double murder suspect

John Carpenter — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 10:31:57 -0500

Police said an 18-year-old man shot multiple times on the West Side Friday night is a suspect in a double murder less than 24 hours earlier in the Back of the Yards neighborhood.
The man was shot in the groin, back and neck while standing on a sidewalk in the 2800 block of West Arthington Street about 9:10 p.m., authorities said. He was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he remained Saturday morning.
A police source confirmed Saturday that the injured man was a suspect in the deaths of 5-year-old Sterling Sims and his mother Chevonne Brown, 31.
The mother and son were shot inside a house in the 5300 block of South Winchester Avenue about 2:40 a.m. on Friday.
Relatives said Brown lived with her mother until about three months ago when she moved in with a boyfriend who lives on the block where the murders occurred.
Doris Sims, the boy’s paternal grandmother, called Sterling “a really nice kid.”
She said her daughter was a dedicated mother who put her children first.
“She loved her kids,” Doris Sims said. “Anytime you’d see her she was with her kids.”
Area North detectives are investigating the West Side shooting, while Area Central detectives are investigating the double murder.
The 18-year-old man who was injured Friday was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance in December 2012, records show.
A month before, he was also was arrested on another drug charge, unlawful use of a weapon and not having a firearm owner ID card.
- Chicago Sun-Times

Friends, family, search for answers in murders of "sweet lady" and her 5-year-old son

John Carpenter — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 14:16:15 -0500

By John Carpenter and Mallory Morales
Homicide Watch Chicago

A brutal double murder in the Back of the Yards has friends and family members scratching their heads, wondering who would kill “a nice young woman” and her 5-year-old son.

Police were called to the apartment in the 5300 block of S. Winchester early Friday morning, where they found 31-year-old Chavonne Brown dead, along with her 5-year-old son, Sterling Sims. Both had been shot.

No one was in custody as of Friday afternoon, and police are releasing few details about the homicide.

Brown also had an older son. According to one published report, he is 12, was in the apartment at the time of the shooting and is the person who called police. Michael Sullivan, a Chicago Police Department spokesman, said he could not confirm this.

Also living in the apartment was Brown’s boyfriend who, according to several neighbors, was at work at the time of the shooting.

A man who emerged from the apartment late Friday morning said he believed the motive was robbery.
“Some little dude just went in and shot her,” said the man, who said he was a friend of the family but declined to give his name.

The man said Brown was returning home after dropping her boyfriend off at work. He believes the alleged shooter saw her walking in and followed her, intending to rob her.

Tom Green, who lives in an apartment in the same building, confirmed that the boyfriend works a third-shift job. He said Chavonne and her boyfriend were “just a struggling couple trying to get their lives together.”

“She was a mother, just engaged in trying to raise her kids as best she could,” Green said. “She was a very nice young lady.”

Green, who said he works an overnight shift at a nearby meat packing facility, arrived home several hours after the murders. He said he had no idea what the motive may have been.

“There are so many different squabbles in this area,” he said. “This is a bad area.”

A woman who identified herself as Brown’s mother declined to comment as she walked into the apartment building. A woman who was with her, who said she was Brown’s first cousin, said the family is devastated.

“She was such a sweet and giving person who always had a smile on her face,”
the woman, who declined to give her name, said. She added that Sims was an “outspoken little boy. He was very smart. He and my son used to play together.”

Juan Arzate lives in the house next to Brown’s apartment building. He said he was shocked when woke up to all the police activity.

“When I hear it, I was stunned,” said Arzate, with help from an interpreter. “She is all the time talking good with me.”

5-year-old boy, woman killed in Back of the Yards shooting

Sun-Times Media Wire — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 04:18:35 -0500

A 31-year-old woman and a 5-year-old boy were found shot to death in a building on the South Side early Friday, authorities said. The two were found shot to death about 2:40 a.m. in the 5300 block of South Winchester Avenue, police said.

The Cook County Medical Examiner’s office confirmed the deaths, but could not immediately provide additional details.

It was not immediately known if the woman and boy had any connection.

Area Central detectives were investigating.