Kejuan Thomas | Homicide Watch Chicago

No bond for man charged with murder of 16-year-old Kejuan Thomas on Jeffery Manor basketball court

Jeff Mayes — Tue, 05 Sep 2017 15:13:48 -0500

By ANDY GRIMM
Chicago Sun-Time

Tororicius Berry | Cook County Sheriff's Dept.

On a sunny afternoon two weeks ago, Tororicius Berry walked up to Kejuan Thomas on a South Side basketball court and shot the 16-year-old in the head, then stood over Thomas and continued firing, prosecutors said Friday.

Multiple witnesses, some as young as 10, told police they saw Berry walk out from behind the Bradley Park fieldhouse toward the courts on the afternoon of Aug. 16, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said at a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.

Berry fired at Thomas from close range, striking the teen in the head, the prosecutor said.

“As Kejuan Thomas lay mortally wounded on the basketball court (Berry) stood over the victim and continued to fire bullets directly into the 16-year-old, unarmed victim as multiple victims looked on,” Santini said.

Kejuan Thomas | Facebook

Berry, 25, fled the scene. Thomas suffered wounds to his head, neck, shoulder and hand; he was dead before emergency medical workers arrived.

Three witnesses identified Berry as the shooter in a police lineup, Santini said, and another witness said they saw Berry fleeing the park with a gun around the time of the murder.

Judge Joseph Panarese ordered Berry held without bond on a charge of first-degree murder.

Santini offered no motive for the shooting. Court records identify Berry as a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, but friends said Thomas was not in a gang.

The Tilden Career Academy sophomore got A’s and B’s and was on the school basketball team. He hoped to play his way into a college scholarship.

Friends said he lived in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, but often went to Jeffery Manor to play in the basketball program because he felt the neighborhood was safer.

“He was a good kid, never a gangbanger,” his coach, Keith Johnson, said of Thomas days after the shooting. “He was a good kid and really loved basketball. He could also draw and dance really well.”

Thomas lived in Parkway Gardens, but frequently traveled the six miles to Bradley Park because he felt it was safer, friends said.

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 19 killed in city violence, including man in mass shooting in West Pullman

Jeff Mayes — Thu, 24 Aug 2017 12:00:07 -0500

By JEFF MAYES
Homicide Watch Chicago

Sun-Times file photo by Ashlee Rezin

At least 19 people died from violence the week of August 14-20 in Chicago, but it could have worse, as a mass shooting early Sunday in West Pullman killed one person, and left six others injured.

The Far South Side shooting occurred about 2:30 a.m., while the group was in the parking lot as the weekly dance party was breaking up at the Universal Entertainment Center in the 11900 block of South Loomis. A man in a black SUV opened fire, according to Chicago Police. The SUV then sped away, and two officer who witnessed the shooting, but lost the vehicle on the expressway.

Kolby Craig, 33, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene at 2:35 a.m., police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He lived in Englewood. A 30-year-old man was shot in the left leg; a 31-year-old woman was shot in the left leg; a 32-year-old woman was shot in the right leg; a 32-year-old man was shot in the abdomen; a 33-year-old woman was shot in the left leg; and a 36-year-old man was shot in the buttocks, police said.

Three people were taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, while two others were taken to Stroger Hospital, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford. They were all listed in serious-to-critical condition. A seventh person was shot and taken to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island. That person was in fair-to-serious condition.

An eighth person, a 40-year-old man, was struck by the shooter’s vehicle and suffered a broken right ankle, police said. He was taken to Christ, where his condition stabilized. The owner of the banquet hall has voluntarily closed the property.

In other shootings last week:

A man was killed and two other people wounded in a shooting Sunday evening in the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side. They were on a porch about 6:25 p.m. in the 3000 block of West Polk when an SUV drove by and someone inside opened fire, according to police. Damian Rowdan, 22, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, the medical examiner’s office said. He lived in the East Garfield Park neighborhood. A 17-year-old boy was shot in both legs and was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said. An 18-year-old man was shot in the right thigh and was taken in good condition to Stroger Hospital.

A man died Sunday morning, more than 16 hours after he and another man were wounded in a Logan Square neighborhood shooting on the Northwest Side. Jose Carlos Romero Hernandez, 21; and a 20-year-old man were walking at 6:26 p.m. Saturday in the 2700 block of North Monticello when a dark-colored SUV pulled up and someone inside opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The SUV then sped away. Hernandez was shot in the head, while the younger man suffered a gunshot wound to the left thigh. They were taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where Hernandez was pronounced dead at 11:12 a.m. Sunday, authorities said. He lived in the Back of the Yards neighborhood. The younger man’s condition was stabilized, police said.
Benjamin Robles, 30, was in a vehicle about 5:10 a.m. Sunday, stopped at a light in the 3800 block of South Archer, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Another vehicle approached and someone inside fired multiple shots. Robles suffered gunshot wounds to the head, neck and arm; and subsequently crashed his vehicle. He was pronounced dead at the scene. He lived in the Clearing neighborhood.
A man was killed and two other people wounded in a shooting early Sunday in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the North Side. Remus Campbell, 32, was in the group standing outside about 4:30 a.m. on the sidewalk in the 7700 block of North Ashland when someone in a Ford SUV fired shots in their direction, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Campbell was shot in the neck and was taken to Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston, where he was pronounced dead. He lived in the same neighborhood as the shooting. A 23-year-old man was shot in the left hip and a 23-year-old woman suffered a gunshot wound to the neck, police said. They were also taken to Saint Francis, where their conditions were stabilized.
Quienten Anthony Tucker was shot to death early Sunday in the University Village neighborhood on the Near West Side. The 22-year-old was standing outside about 2 a.m. in the 1000 block of West Maxwell when a vehicle drove up, two people jumped out and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner's office. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene. Tucker lived several blocks west of where he was shot.
One man was killed and another critically wounded in a West Englewood neighborhood shooting early Sunday. A 23-year-old man was standing outside with a group of people about 1:25 a.m. in the 7000 block of South Paulina when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside fired multiple shots, according to police. He suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital. Aaron Clemons, 21, suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:19 a.m. He lived in the Ashburn neighborhood.
A man was killed Saturday afternoon in an Englewood shooting. Cornell Verner, 24, was sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle about 4:20 p.m. in the 6300 block of South Carpenter when someone walked up and fired shots, striking him multiple times in the face and torso, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The shooter then ran away. Verner was taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A man was killed and a woman injured in a shooting early Saturday in the Far South Side West Pullman neighborhood. The 26-year-old man and 45-year-old woman were standing on the street near a parked car about 4:30 a.m. in the 12200 block of South Green when a black SUV pulled alongside and someone inside started shooting, according to police. Jerrell J. Perkins was shot in the head and was taken to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, where he was pronounced dead. He lived about a block from where the shooting happened. The woman suffered gunshot wounds to the left arm and left leg, and was taken to Christ Medical Center, where her condition was stabilized.
A woman parked her bullet-pocked SUV in front of the Cook County Criminal Courthouse on Friday, screaming for help for her wounded boyfriend, who later died, witnesses said. The woman told police someone in another vehicle opened fire on her car about 11:15 a.m. a few blocks south of the Little Village courthouse, near West 31st and Rockwell, and then chased her as she raced away. Her passenger, 28-year-old Kenneth Williams, suffered multiple gunshot wounds, and died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 2:10 p.m., authorities said. No one was in custody.
A 24-year-old Northwest Side man was shot to death early Friday in the Jackson Park Highlands neighborhood on the South Side. Two people approached Levell M. Moore and one of them shot him while he was standing on a sidewalk in the 6800 block of South Jeffery about 12:45 a.m., police and the medical examiner’s office said. The 24-year-old Moore, who lived in the Albany Park neighborhood, was struck twice in the chest. He was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died two hours later.
A teenager was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on the South Side. Kejuan Thomas, 16, was playing basketball at 4:34 p.m. in the 9700 block of South Yates when a car with two males inside pulled up, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. One of them jumped out of the car and fired shots. Thomas suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:46 p.m. He lived in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood.
A 19-year-old man was found shot to death Wednesday morning in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side. Officers responded to a call of shots fired at 8:32 a.m. in the 2400 block of South Sacramento and found Victor Davila Jr. in an alley with a gunshot wound to the chest, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Davila lived less than a mile away.
A man died Wednesday morning after being critically wounded in an Austin neighborhood shooting the night before. Robert Thornton, 32, was standing outside about 11:45 p.m. Tuesday on a sidewalk in the 5400 block of West Rice when someone in a white vehicle fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner's office. Thornton was struck in his chest and right leg. He was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he was pronounced dead at 7:06 a.m. Wednesday. He lived in West Garfield Park.
A 23-year-old man was fatally shot Tuesday afternoon in the Southwest Side Ashburn neighborhood. Stefan Slater was standing outside at 2:25 p.m. in the 7800 block of South Homan when a male on a light-colored bicycle started shooting, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was hit five times and was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead minutes later. He lived in the same neighborhood.
A man died Tuesday, nearly two months after he was shot repeatedly in Humboldt Park. About 2:30 p.m. June 28, Ernie Gardner was in the 4000 block of West Division when someone walked up and fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Gardner, 36, ran across the street but was shot in the chest, hip and leg, authorities said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. The South Shore resident died there at 2:22 a.m. Tuesday, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of complications from multiple gunshot wounds.
A 25-year-old man died at a hospital after being shot Monday morning in South Shore. Rakeem Simmons was found by officers responding about 10 a.m. to a call of a person shot in the 6800 block of South Harper, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Simmons, who lived in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side, had been shot in the lower back, and was taken in critical condition to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he died.
A south suburban man who suffered serious head injuries during a July robbery in the South Loop died early Monday. Officers responding to a call of a battery at 5:16 p.m. July 17 found Curtis Sanderbeck, 46, bleeding and unconscious in the 1200 block of South Canal, according to police and the medical examiner's office. A witness told police that another male struck Sanderbeck in his head with a board, kicked him and took his property. Sanderbeck was taken to Stroger Hospital in serious condition. He died at RML Specialty Hospital at 4:14 a.m. Monday, according to the medical examiner’s office. An autopsy found he died of complications from head trauma suffered in the assault. Officers took two suspects into custody in July, but both were later released without being charged.
A man was killed in a Chicago Lawn neighborhood drive-by shooting early Monday on the Southwest Side. Javier Pantoja, 26, was standing outside about 12:10 a.m. next to a car in the 3000 block of West 60th Street when a tan vehicle drove by and someone inside fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Pantoja suffered multiple gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead at the scene.

16-year-old Tilden student Kejuan Thomas shot to death while playing basketball in Jeffery Manor

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 18 Aug 2017 13:02:08 -0500

Kejuan Thomas | Facebook

Sixteen-year-old Kejuan Thomas was a good kid, who loved to draw and dance, but his greatest love was playing basketball. And that is what he was doing when he was shot to death Wednesday afternoon in a park in the Jeffery Manor neighborhood on the South Side.

Thomas was playing ball with a group of teens about 4:30 p.m. at Bradley Park in the 9700 block of South Yates when a car with two male suspects inside pulled up, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

One of them jumped out of the car and fired shots.

Kejaun suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the head and was pronounced dead at the scene at 4:46 p.m., authorities said.

Friends said on Facebook that Kejuan lived in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood, but often went to Jeffery Manor to play in the basketball program there because he felt the neighborhood was safer.

He was not involved with gangs and was focused on basketball, friends said. He also liked to play Pokemon.

"He was a good kid, never a gangbanger," his coach at Tilden Career Academy, Keith Johnson, said. "He was a good kid and really loved basketball. He could also draw and dance really well."

Thomas was entering his junior year at Tilden, where he was and A and B student, and played on the basketball team, hoping to win a college scholarship.

"He wore number 20 for my frosh-soph team and played small forward," Johnson said. "He really picked up on things well and could jump really well."

At candlelight vigil was conducted in the park, community activist Lamon Reccord posted this video:

A candlelight memorial for the ceremony will be conducted at Tilden Academy at noon on Tuesday, Aug. 22. Friends and mourners are asked to wear blue shorts and black jeans.

"I want to give my condolences to his family from Coach Keith and the Chicago Tilden basketball team," Johnson said.

--Homicide Watch Chicago