Ivery Isom charged in fatal Calumet Heights shooting, crash

Michael Lansu — Sat, 13 Dec 2014 18:47:59 -0600

Ivery Isom / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY TINA SFONDELES AND MICHAEL LANSU
Chicago Sun-Times

Charges were upgraded against a South Side man after prosecutors claim he shot a motorist before a deadly crash last year in the Calumet Heights neighborhood.

Ivery Isom was a passenger in a vehicle that crashed near East 93rd Street and South Constance Avenue about 5:10 a.m. Nov. 29, 2013, authorities said.

Police said the vehicle was speeding east on 93rd Street when it veered into the oncoming lane then crashed into a parked vehicle, light pole and tree.

The driver, 22-year-old Patrick Walker, of the 700 block of East 68th Street, died hours later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

Isom and two other passengers were injured in the crash and taken to Christ Medical Center for treatment, authorities said.

Emergency crews found Isom with a loaded handgun and he was initially charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, unlawful use of a weapon, possession of ammunition without a valid FOID and possession of a laser sight accessory, police said.

Isom, 23, of the 6500 block of South Lowe Avenue, was initially ordered held on $50,000 bond, but charges were upgraded this week to involuntary manslaughter.

Police initially said alcohol may have been a factor in the crash, but on Saturday prosecutors said that an autopsy determined Walker died in part from being shot and the death was ruled a homicide.

The Illinois State Police crime lab determined that Isom, who was in the back seat, had gunshot residue on his sweatshirt after the crash, prosecutors said.

On Saturday, Judge Adam Bourgeois raised Isom's bond to $750,000 and ordered him to be back in court Monday.

Patrick Walker | Homicide Watch Chicago

Ivery Isom charged in fatal Calumet Heights shooting, crash