WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 10 people fatally shot last week; man dies 6 years after being shot at age 14

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 05 Oct 2015 16:00:16 -0500

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

At least 11 people died from violence in Chicago last week, including five who died in mass shootings Monday night and Tuesday morning; and a 20-year-old man who died after six years in a coma.

Jeremy Gonzalez died Thursday night, nearly six years after he was shot in the head while walking with his mother in Logan Square.

Jeremy, known as Kiko, was 14 when he and his mother were walking in the 3400 block of West Armitage shortly after 9 a.m. on Dec. 8, 2009, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

That's when a man or teenager with short, dark hair and a dark blue sweatshirt walked up, yelled gang slogans, and shot Gonzalez in the back of the head, police said at the time.

He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and later transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital; he spent the last six years in a coma, according to authorities and family members.

Gonzalez was 20 when he was pronounced dead at 8:35 p.m. Thursday at a nursing home in the 7400 block of North Sheridan. An autopsy determined he died from complications of the gunshot wound to the head, and his death was ruled a homicide.

Craig Curry was shot to death Sunday night in West Englewood.

Curry, 48, was shot in the head about 8 p.m. during a domestic dispute in the 6800 block of South Loomis, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Curry, who lived on the same block as the shooting, died at the scene, the medical examiner’s office said.

A northwest suburban man was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in Humboldt Park. Hector Navarro, 41, was shot in the chest about 2:35 p.m. in the 1500 block of North Harding, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Navarro, of the 4100 block of Crystal Lake Road in McHenry, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 3:10 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

Authorities identified a man found shot to death inside a burning car in Roseland as Laprentis Cudjo of Harvey.

Cudjo, 28, was inside the vehicle when crews responded to the fire at 2:11 p.m. Wednesday in the 10700 block of South Eggleston, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Cudjo, of the 14800 block of South Winchester in Harvey, was dead at the scene. An autopsy showed he died of a gunshot wound to the head.

Timothy Jones was shot to death Tuesday afternoon in South Shore. Jones, 29, was outside in the 7200 block of South Exchange about 4 p.m. when someone walked up and shot him in the head, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Jones, who lived in the 1600 block of East 67th, was dead at the scene, authorities said.

A barbecue at a South Side park was interrupted by gunfire early Tuesday, leaving three people dead and three others injured in Fuller Park.

About 30 people were enjoying the barbecue when more than 15 shots rang out. Five people shot about 12:10 a.m. in the 300 block of West 42nd Street when two males opened fire from an alley, according to police.

Antian Hardmon, 25, of the 7200 block of South Langley, was shot in the head, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 1:05 a.m., according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Ayanna Northern, 22, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.
Tyrone Spikes, 28, also suffered a gunshot wound to the head and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 3:35 a.m., authorities said. He lived in the 6300 block of South Ingleside.

Another woman, 24, was shot in the left leg and was taken to Stroger; while a 36-year-old man was shot in the leg and later walked into Provident Hospital. Both of their conditions were stabilized.

Just hours earlier in Back of the Yards, a family returning from an outing was the victim of a drive-by shooting that left Patricia Chew and Lolita Wells dead, and three people injured, including Chew's 11-month old son.

The baby survived, but his mother and grandmother were killed, police said. Chew was 24 and her mother 47. Two other men who were with the women were also wounded. The baby was shot in the side. His condition had stabilized, according to police. Chew was two months' pregnant.

The shooting happened about 7:30 p.m. at 53rd and Aberdeen. The group was getting out of their car and returning to their home when unknown gunmen opened fire from another vehicle, police said.

The week's first homicide victim was 18-year-old Dwayne Frazier Jr., who was fatally shot Monday morning in East Garfield Park. The shooting happened in the 100 block of North Kedzie at 10:52 a.m. Monday, police said.

Frazier was shot multiple times in the chest and arm, and was driven to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died less than an hour later, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He lived in the 2600 block of West Gladys.

In a non-shooting-related alleged homicide, prosecutors allege Adrian Harris was driving drunk when his car struck and killed a pedestrian early Sunday on the Eisenhower Expressway on the West Side.

Harris, 33, was charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI causing death, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

He was driving in the westbound lanes of I-290 near Western about 4 a.m. when the pedestrian was hit, according to Illinois State Police. Harris did not stop immediately after the crash, but stopped a short time later near Homan.

The pedestrian, a 41-year-old man, was killed, state police said. The medical examiner’s office was not releasing his identity as of Monday pending notification of family.

A judge ordered Harris held on a $400,000 bond.

Hector Navarro of McHenry fatally shot in Humboldt Park

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 02 Oct 2015 13:10:25 -0500

Hector Navarro of northwest suburban McHenry was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side.

Navarro, 41, was shot in the chest about 2:35 p.m. in the 1500 block of North Harding, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Navarro, of the 4100 block of Crystal Lake Road in McHenry, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died at 3:10 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

—Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Hector Navarro | Homicide Watch Chicago

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 10 people fatally shot last week; man dies 6 years after being shot at age 14

Hector Navarro of McHenry fatally shot in Humboldt Park