Jajuan Porter | Homicide Watch Chicago

Comment of the Day: "When and where did our culture begin to see each other as worthless or a threat to each other"

Michael Lansu — Mon, 12 May 2014 17:11:56 -0500

Jajuan Porter was fatally shot last week in the Chatham neighborhood. Reader "Karmen" posted this about the shooting:

So sorry for your loss; our sons are being taken by the hands of cops and gangs. Innocent bystanders of ignorance. Our culture have to do better than this. When and where did our culture begin to see each other as worthless or a threat to each other. The sheer hate speak volumes, "over a dozen bullets to this kids body," do you comprehend the magnitude of hate in this sensless [sic] act. IS THE CODE OF SILENCE WORTH IT? How many more of our children? These fools who are committing these shootings don't have nothing to look forward to in life and do not care about yours, mine, women, children, or the elderly. When you catch them, send them to war torn countries. Don't put them in jail, send them all where they truly belong. In a uncivilized country. All Black American boys are not violent nor follow this way of thinking. LORD, WE NEED YOU NOW!

WEEK IN REVIEW: Eight shot dead throughout Chicago

Michael Lansu — Mon, 12 May 2014 10:01:19 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Six men and two women were fatally shot in Chicago last week.

Four of the murders happened over the weekend, when 18 other people were wounded by gunfire, authorities said.

The most recent murder happened when 15-year-old Vaughn Holeman was fatally shot about 3:40 p.m. Sunday in the 200 block of West 116th Street, authorities said. Detectives are questioning a juvenile for Holeman's murder, police said.

Holeman, of the 400 block of West 115th Street, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

On Saturday, 25-year-old Xavier Tripp was walking on a sidewalk in the 4100 block of West Adams Street when a vehicle pulled up and at least one person got out and shot him about 1:35 p.m., authorities said.

Tripp, of the 1500 block of North Long Avenue, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County at 2:15 p.m. Saturday, according to the medical examiner’s office.

In the Little Village neighborhood, 34-year-old Cesar Nieves was fatally shot in the 4100 block of West 28th Street at 3:24 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Nieves, of the 2800 block of South Kedvale Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Friday, Summer Moore was shot and killed in the 11400 block of South Aberdeen Street, apparently by a bullet meant for someone else, according to the police and relatives.

The 37-year-old mother of three and other relatives had gathered at an aunt’s home in Morgan Park to celebrate a teenage relative’s prom send-off, family said. Moore, of the 3100 block of West Marquette Road, was shot in the chest and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, authorities said.

In the Calumet Heights neighborhood, 22-year-old William Lomax was fatally shot while traveling in a car in the 9300 block of South Stony Island Avenue about 11:40 a.m. Friday, authorities said.

Lomax, of the 10000 block of South Yates Avenue, was driven to a restaurant in the 8800 block of South Stony Island Avenue, where emergency crews took him to Stroger Hospital, authorities said. He died about an hour later.

On Tuesday, 18-year-old Jajuan Porter was shot dead in the 7900 block of South Vincennes Avenue, authorities said. A 26-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting.

Family said Porter was inside a restaurant when he was shot. Emergency crews found Porter, of the 600 block of East 131 Street, dead on the street, authorities said.

On the West Side, 20-year-old Chasteddy Blocker was shot in the 1500 block of South Central Park Avenue about 4:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. A 34-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting.

Blocker, 20, who lived on the block, was shot in the back and died at Mount Sinai Hospital a short time later, authorities said.

The killings started about 7:30 p.m. Monday when 29-year-old Gerlad Calhoun and a 35-year-old man were shot while riding in a vehicle near South Morgan and West 59th streets, authorities said.

Calhoun, of the 700 block of West 59th Street, died from a gunshot wound to the chest less than an hour later at Stroger Hospital, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged in any of the murders.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 125 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including six people killed by police.

Additionally, the state’s attorney’s office filed first-degree murder charges against a speeding motorist who killed an off-duty police officer while trying to flee police even though the autopsy ruled the death an accident.

Chicago Police, which counts murders different, have ruled at least eight of the homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Family: Jajuan Porter fatally shot in Chatham weeks after mother's passing

Susan Du — Thu, 08 May 2014 16:58:49 -0500

JaJuan Porter / Photo from Facebook

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Jajuan Porter turned 18 three weeks ago -- the day of his mother’s funeral.

Porter was fatally shot Tuesday night in the Chatham neighborhood and his family is now planning another funeral.

The tall, skinny, meek young man had been living with his sister in the Altgeld Gardens neighborhood since the day he found his mother unresponsive on the living room floor against a couch, family said. Porter slept on that same couch until the night he was shot.

Authorities said Porter was standing on a sidewalk in the 7900 block of South Vincennes Avenue when two men approached and opened fire. However, witnesses told family Porter was inside King Gyros when he was shot more than a dozen times while trying to escape the eatery.

Porter’s sister, Tyiesha Nall, said she still expects to see her baby brother sleeping on the couch when she comes downstairs in the morning.

“I haven’t even swallowed the pill of my mom’s death, and for me to get a phone call [Tuesday night] to hear, ‘You need to get to the hospital, your brother dead,’ it was like ‘Damn, I just saw him this morning,’” Nall said.

Family members said Porter’s father was absent and his mother struggled with drug addiction.

Police said Porter was a known gang member, but Nall insisted her younger brother wasn’t in a gang and only associated with friends in gangs.

“He used to cry after my momma a lot, and then when she passed, it was hard for him, but he didn’t turn to the street,” Nall said. “I will say he stayed outside more. But his goal was to go to school, get something done and to show momma that he’s making a better life for himself.”

As a child, Porter was an enthusiastic student, Nall said. As an eighth grader, he had won tickets to Wisconsin Dells after placing first in a spelling bee. He later attended Hirsch Metropolitan High School until he was caught smoking marijuana and transferred to an alternative school, Nall said.

Porter’s most recent plans were to enroll in Kennedy-King College’s GED program and enlist in the military, Nall said.

Kelley Porter, Jajuan's aunt, said she pressured him to get out of Chicago.

“I always told Jajuan, plain and simple, a black boy between the ages of 18 and 25 in the city of Chicago who doesn’t finish school, doesn’t go to college or join the service, you’re going to wind up two places, dead or in jail,” she said.

Jajuan Porter / Family photo

Kelley Porter told her nephew to distance himself from gangs and encouraged him to find acceptance from family instead of friends who urged him to post photos of himself holding up gang signs on Facebook.

“My nephew was trying to attach, trying to find somewhere to fit in. He just lost his mother, the love of his life,” Kelley Porter said. “You could still see fear and innocence in that boy’s eyes. He wasn’t an angry teenager, out to beat someone's ass every day. That wasn’t him.”

Nall described Jajuan Porter as a follower who stuck with his sisters. Porter and his sister enjoyed dancing and he was always the “life of the party” at family gatherings.

This Mother's Day, the family had planned a reunion outing to Six Flags Great America. It was their eldest brother's idea for the five siblings to spend more time together since he had recently moved out of state.

“We was forcing [Jajuan] to go because he wanted to stay home, but it was like, all of momma’s kids are going. We’re going to have fun, and we’re just going to go back to my brother’s house in Wisconsin and sit out there, celebrate Mother’s Day,” Nall said. “And now look what happened.”

After Jajuan Porter’s death, Nall struggled to explain to her six-year-old daughter why she would never see her uncle again. Jajuan Porter often played video games and colored with his younger cousins, taking them to the park and letting them climb over him.

Nall said despite the hardships of Jajuan Porter’s childhood, the happiest times of his life were when he could be with his family, when his mother was alive and he was able to stay with her.

“When I say he was loved by so many, I mean it was so, so many,” Nall said. “I don't want his death to be in vain like all these other deaths in Chicago. These kids need to grow up.”

Nobody has been charged in the shooting, which also left a 26-year-old man wounded. Area South detectives continue to investigate.

Jajuan Porter shot dead on Chatham street

Michael Lansu — Wed, 07 May 2014 09:42:17 -0500

Jajuan Porter was killed Tuesday night in a Chatham neighborhood shooting that left another man wounded.

The men were standing on a sidewalk in the 7900 block of South Vincennes Avenue when two men walked up and opened fire about 9:50 p.m. Tuesday, police said.

Porter, 18, of the 600 block of East 131st Street, was shot multiple times and died at the scene, authorities said. A police source described Porter as a known gang member.

The other man, 26, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition with gunshot wounds to his chest and shoulder, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire