Jordan Means | Homicide Watch Chicago

Comment of the Day: "Thank you lord that their will be justice..."

Michael Lansu — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 15:59:46 -0500

Jordan Means and Anthony Bankhead were fatally shot in a South Chicago apartment this month. Justin Hamilton is being held without bond for the killings. Reader Ann Mcmichael posted this about them:

Thank you lord that their will be justice for anthony bankhead and jordan means. May God be with their families.

UPDATE: Justin Hamilton killed fellow gang members Jordan Means, Anthony Bankhead in stolen goods dispute, prosecutors say

Michael Lansu — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 16:10:59 -0500

Justin Hamilton / Photo from Chicago Police

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Justin Hamilton allegedly fatally shot two fellow gang members during an on-going dispute over stolen items, prosecutors said.

Hamilton, 23, is accused of murdering 16-year-old Jordan Means and 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead in an apartment in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue, authorities said.

Hamilton was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and Judge James Brown ordered him held without bond at a Tuesday court hearing.

Prosecutors said the killings were a result of an argument and fight about stolen items that began Friday between the victims and Hamilton and an uncharged accomplice. The dispute escalated when Means and Bankhead were ordered to leave the home of a fellow gang member, prosecutors said.

Means’ mother, Camille Cochran, said the dispute became public on Facebook.

On Saturday, Bankhead, Means and others were in Bankhead’s home in the 8000 block of South Houston Avenue when Hamilton and the accomplice entered the building to confront them about the dispute, prosecutors said.

Witnesses reported overhearing an argument on the first floor then several gunshots, prosecutors said.

Police found both teens dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Cochran said Means, who lived nearby in the 8100 block of South Coles Avenue, was her youngest child. He was a sophomore at Bowen High School, liked to play basketball and was a ladies man, she said.

“An argument led to this, that’s crazy,” said Cochran, 42. “Now, I don’t have my son no more.”

Witnesses said they saw Hamilton immediately after the murders with a gun in his hand, prosecutors said. He allegedly pointed the gun at several witnesses and threatened to kill their families if they provided any information before fleeing the scene.

Hamilton will be back in court May 9.

Justin Hamilton charged with murder for shooting deaths of Jordan Means, Anthony Bankhead

Michael Lansu — Tue, 22 Apr 2014 09:06:35 -0500

Justin Hamilton / Photo from Chicago Police

A south suburban Flossmoor man has been charged for allegedly fatally shooting two teens in a South Chicago apartment Saturday morning.

Justin Hamilton, 23, was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, police said.

Hamilton is accused of killing 16-year-old Jordan Means and 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead.

Police found Bankhead and Means both shot to death in the basement of a building in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue shortly after 10:30 a.m.

Both died of gunshot wounds to the head, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Hamilton is scheduled to appear in bond court Tuesday.

On Saturday, Means’ mother, Camille Cochran, said that the shooter and her son had exchanged words on Facebook.

“An argument led to this, that’s crazy,” said Cochran, 42. “Now, I don’t have my son no more.”

According to the medical examiner’s office, Bankhead lived in the home he was killed in, and Means lived less than two blocks away.

WEEK IN REVIEW: Nine shot dead throughout the city

Michael Lansu — Mon, 21 Apr 2014 08:46:24 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Nine people were fatally shot throughout the city last week, and a 10th died from injuries suffered in an earlier shooting.

Eight of the murders happened during an especially violent weekend, which saw at least 37 other people wounded by gunfire.

The most recent murders happened when two men were fatally shot Sunday afternoon in the Little Village neighborhood.

Juan Ocon, 32, and Timmy Bermudez, 19, were riding in a Lincoln Navigator when they were shot about 1 p.m. near West 28th Street and South Sawyer Avenue, authorities said.

An orange Hummer blocked the SUV at the intersection then two gunmen exited and fired nearly a dozen shots at the vehicle, police said. Ocon was shot in the head and died at the scene. Bermudez was shot in the chest and died less than 20 minutes later at Mount Sinai Hospital.

In the Garfield Ridge community, A Chicago Police officer and her husband, a Cook County Sheriff’s correctional officer, were found dead in their home in the 5300 block of South Austin Avenue in an apparent murder-suicide, authorities said.

The correctional officer apparently shot his wife before shooting himself, said Cook County Sheriff’s spokeswoman Cara Smith. The bodies were discovered about 5 a.m. Sunday.

The couple has been identified as Javier and Veronica Acevedo, both 50, authorities said. Autopsies are scheduled for later Monday.

On Saturday, the bodies of 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead and 16-year-old Jordan Means were discovered in Bankhead's home in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue about 10:40 a.m.

Both teens had been shot and were dead on the scene, authorities said.

Means lived nearby in the 8100 block of South Coles Avenue, authorities said. His mother, Camille Cochran, said the shooter and her son had exchanged words on Facebook. Police would not confirm her account.

In East Garfield Park, 42-year-old Darren Ray shot multiple times in an alley in the 2900 block of West Flournoy Street about 9:30 a.m., authorities said.

Ray, of the 3000 block of West Flournoy Street, was declared dead at Mount Sinai Hospital about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In the West Town community, 19-year-old Nicholas Ramirez was fatally shot in the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street after crashing the vehicle he was driving during a chase about 2:30 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

After the crash, at least one person in the second vehicle shot Ramirez in the head and legs, authorities said. The second vehicle then fled east on Hubbard Street.

Ramirez, of the 3900 block of South Rockwell Street, was dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Friday, 20-year-old Trevolus Pickett was fatally shot in a gangway in the 5200 block of West Congress Parkway about 11:15 p.m., authorities said.

Pickett, 8300 block of South Dorchester Avenue, was shot in the head and died less than an hour later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the medical examiner's office.

On Tuesday, 16-year-old Keno Glass was was walking on a sidewalk in the 7600 block of North Ashland Avenue when a gray minivan drove past and someone inside shot him about 2:40 a.m., authorities said.

Glass, of the 3500 block of West Walnut Street, was dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Additionally, 22-year-old Andres Servantes died last Monday from gunshot wounds suffered April 11 in the 8100 block of South Kilpatrick Avenue, authorities said.

Servantes, of the 4000 block of West 58th Place, was sitting in a vehicle when a light-colored van approached and somebody inside opened fire, authorities said. Servantes was shot in the head and shoulders and died three days later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled 95 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including four 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 five of the homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Mom: Two South Chicago teens killed over Facebook dispute

Becky Schlikerman — Sat, 19 Apr 2014 19:52:34 -0500

Jordan Means / Family Photo

BY BECKY SCHLIKERMAN
Chicago Sun-Times

Two Chicago teenagers were shot to death Saturday over a dispute on Facebook, the mother of one of the victims said Saturday night.

Sixteen-year-old Jordan Means and 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead were found dead just after 10:30 a.m. Saturday in an apartment in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue on the South Side, according to police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Both Means and Banks, who lived at the home, were dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Means’ mother, Camille Cochran, said the shooter and her son had exchanged words on Facebook.

“An argument led to this, that’s crazy,” said Cochran, 42. “Now, I don’t have my son no more.”

Police did not confirm the details provided by Cochran.

She said Means was her baby — the youngest of her three kids. He was a sophomore at Bowen High School, liked to play basketball and was a ladies man, she said.

Means’ sister wants the killer brought to justice.

Anthony Bankhead / Submitted Photo

“Nobody deserves to get killed like that,” said Magen Willis, 24. “Not at 16.”

Means lived less than a block from Bankhead's South Chicago neighborhood basement apartment where the shooting happened. Friends gathered there Saturday night. Candles illuminated pools of blood left by the shooting.

Means and his friend were among five people shot to death across the city since Friday evening. Another 16 have been wounded.