Marcel Pearson | Homicide Watch Chicago

Mother of slain 17-year-old plans memorial event for anniversary of his death

Jared Landsman — Wed, 15 Jul 2015 16:00:50 -0500

Marcel Pearson / Photo from Twitter

By JARED LANDSMAN
Homicide Watch Chicago

The Washington Heights community will honor the memory of 17-year-old gunshot victim Marcel Pearson with a memorial and festival a year after he was gunned down near his South Side home.

Pearson was fatally shot on July 8, 2014, while walking through Robichaux Park near his Washington Heights neighborhood home just two days before his college orientation at Western Illinois University.

At the time, police said the 17-year-old and a 15-year-old acquaintance had just left a store in the 9200 block of South Eggleston when a white van pulled up about 10 p.m. A gunman exited and opened fire—hitting Pearson in the chest and back.

However, a manager of his high school basketball team said Pearson, who lived in the 1400 block of West 114th Place, was playing basketball in the park when he was shot.

In either case, he was pronounced dead at the scene, leaving his family and his community stunned.

A year later, the grief remains, and a resolution to make sure he is not forgotten.

The Celebration of Life and Unity Fest on Saturday will be hosted by the Pearson family, Robichaux Park and the Robichaux Park Block Club. It will last from noon to 4 p.m. in the park at 92nd and Eggleston, with attendees encouraged to wear orange in support of gun violence victims.

Described by many as good-natured and funny, Marcel had recently graduated from Johnson College Prep High School, where he was part of the Englewood charter school’s first graduating class.

“In honor of him we are addressing issues to solidify the community. ... There is a lot of love for him left," said Quianna Pearson, Marcel’s mother, who is organizing the event hoping his memory will live on to inspire other inner city teenagers to achieve their goals.

"He was focused, and a popular boy growing up. He maintained satisfactory grades and was very athletic," she said.

Quianna Pearson is also in the process of establishing the Marcel Q. Foundation, and hopes to create a scholarship in his honor.

"Marcel had a grandmother that cared for him dearly, and when she passed away she left him as the beneficiary of her insurance policy," his mother said. "Instead of cashing it out, he left the $20,000 for his education. He didn't take out a single dollar."

Marcel wanted to go to college to find his way out of the neighborhood, an unnamed friend said.

His mother hopes even though her son cannot, this event can begin the process of having inspire other neighborhood teens to follow that dream.

No arrests have been made in Marcel’s case, according to Chicago Police.

WEEK IN REVIEW: 12 dead from Chicago shootings

Michael Lansu — Mon, 14 Jul 2014 09:51:49 -0500

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Twelve people died last week from shootings throughout Chicago.

Three of the shootings happened early last Monday at the end of a bloody Independence Day weekend that saw 13 people killed and 58 others wounded by gunfire.

The last shooting of the week happened when a gunman walked up to 28-year-old William Lewis in the 1300 block of West Devon Avenue and shot him in the head 3:20 p.m. Saturday, authorities said.

Lewis, of the 4700 block of North Hermitage Avenue, died at Presence Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In the Chicago Lawn neighborhood, 27-year-old Adarrius Thompson and his 50-year-old mother were shot during a domestic dispute at their home in the 6200 block of South Rockwell Street, authorities said.

Thompson was shot in the chest and died at the scene. His mother was also shot in the chest and was hospitalized at Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition, authorities said.

On Friday, 32-year-old Damion Bryant was shot in the head just outside his home in the 5200 block of West Quincy Street in the Austin neighborhood and died at the scene about 8 p.m., authorities said. Three other people were wounded in the shooting but survived.

On Wednesday, Jasmine Curry -- a pregnant 24-year-old mother of five -- was shot while in a minivan traveling south on the Dan Ryan Expressway near 59th Street, family said.

“I just don’t understand young people in Chicago today,” said her father, Pierre Curry. “They don’t give a damn. They ain’t got no heart.”

Jasmine Curry’s death comes slightly less than a year after her brother Pierce L. Curry was fatally shot while riding in a vehicle on the South Side in the early morning hours of Aug. 27, 2013.

On Tuesday, 23-year-old Bruce Wright was shot while riding a bicycle in the 900 block of North Hamlin Avenue about 10:10 p.m., authorities said. Wright, of the 0-100 block of North Hamlin Avenue, was shot in the head and died at the scene.

Wright was previously wounded in the left forearm just six days earlier — on July 2. He told police he heard shots and felt pain in his arm.

On Sept. 2, he was shot in his left wrist during a drive-by shooting, police said.

In the Washington Heights neighborhood, 17-year-old Marcel Pearson and a 15-year-old acquaintance had just left a store and were walking through Robichaux Park in the 9200 block of South Eggleston Avenue when a white van pulled up about 10 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. A gunman exited and opened fire — hitting Pearson in the chest and back, police said.

Pearson, of the 1400 block of West 114th Place, was dead at the scene by the time emergency personnel arrived, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Friends said Pearson played basketball at Johnson College Prep High School was about to start at Western Illinois University.

On Monday, 19-year-old Jaynisha Scheffer was walking with a group in the 2200 block of West 69th Street when someone rode up on a bicycle and opened fire at 7:05 p.m., authorities said.

Scheffer, of the 7600 block of South Paulina Street, was shot in the back and died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn later that night, authorities said.

In the South Chicago neighborhood, 24-year-old Joey Henderson was shot in the 8400 block of South Buffalo Avenue when he was shot about 2:20 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

Henderson, who lived on the block, was shot in the back, chest, right arm and eye and died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital about an hour later, authorities said.

In the Washington Heights neighborhood, 19-year-old Cassius White and a 16-year-old acquaintance were shot in the 9600 block of South Sangamon Avenue about 12:30 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

White, of the 8200 block of South Dante Avenue, was shot in the abdomen area and died later that day at Christ Medical Center, according to the medical examiner’s office. The 16-year-old was also wounded, but survived, police said.

The killings started when 44-year-old Tonya Gunn was leaning against a car and talking to her cousin after a cookout at her grandfather’s house in the 10900 block of South Throop Street when gunshots rang out about 12:30 a.m. Monday, authorities said.

Gunn, who lived on the block, was shot in the side and died less than an hour later at Roseland Community Hospital.

“As far as her being in the wrong place at the wrong time — I can’t say that,” Gunn’s cousin, Annette Scott, said.

Additionally, two people died last week from earlier gunshot wounds.

William Allen, 25, of the 3500 block of South State Street, died last Monday after being shot June 6 near East 80th Street and South Muskegon Avenue, authorities said. Two other men were wounded, but survived.

Debra Escobedo, 49, died Monday afternoon after being shot about 3 a.m. June 1 in the 2700 block of West 24th Street, authorities said. Escobedo, of the 3100 block of South Green Street, was talking with a group outside a bar when a gunman approached and opened fire, police and family said.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 216 Chicago deaths in 2014 a homicide — including nine 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 some of those homicides as involuntary manslaughter, justified self-defense or accidents.

Friend: Marcel Pearson 'just wanted to move out of the hood'

Michael Lansu — Wed, 09 Jul 2014 17:11:55 -0500

Marcel Pearson / Photo from Twitter

BY KALEY FOWLER
Homicide Watch Chicago

Marcel Pearson was fatally shot late Tuesday near his Washington Heights area home just days before his college orientation.

Pearson, 17, and a 15-year-old acquaintance had just left a store and were walking through Robichaux Park in the 9200 block of South Eggleston Avenue when a white van pulled up about 10 p.m., authorities said. A gunman exited and opened fire -- hitting Pearson in the chest and back, police said.

However, a manager of his high school basketball team said Pearson was playing basketball in the park when he was shot.

Pearson, of the 1400 block of West 114th Place, was dead at the scene by the time emergency personnel arrived, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

"It's so sad that he died this way," said the manger, who is not being named because she is a juvenile. "He wasn't getting in trouble, he wasn't hanging on the corner, he was doing something he loved."

Pearson recently completed his education at Johnson College Prep High School, where he was part of the Englewood charter school’s first graduating class.

"He was the type of person who lights up the room," the manager said. "He was very caring. He never treated anyone wrong and he was nice to everybody. Everybody loved to be around him because he was so loving and caring and made everyone laugh."

A friend, who is not being named because he is a juvenile, described Pearson as a class clown who frequently got in trouble for cracking jokes and playing pranks. Despite the antics, the friend said Pearson took his education seriously.

Pearson averaged 17 points per game on the school basketball team and coach Stephen Gilbert said he was a captain his junior and senior year.

“We would play together, and I used to act like I could beat him, but I always knew in my mind that he was better than me,” the friend said.

Pearson had planned to attend Western Illinois University in the fall and saw college as his way out of the dangerous area where he grew up, the friend said. His high coach added Pearson hoped to make the basketball team at the downstate university.

“I talked to him a week ago and he just talked about college,” the friend said. “College was his number one goal. He just wanted to move out of the hood.”

A high school adviser was going to drive Pearson four hours to downstate Macomb so he could attend orientation, the friend said.