Ronald Jerome Clarke | Homicide Watch Chicago

Ronald Jerome Clarke no gang-banger, according to family, who want his 'friends' to speak up about fatal shooting

Jeff Mayes — Fri, 12 Feb 2016 10:47:01 -0600

His mother, Demetria Hudson (left), and his aunt, Shantesia Hudson, say Ronald Clarke was not a member of a gang, though some of his longtime friends were. | photo provided

By TIFFANY MITCHELL
Homicide Watch Chicago

When Ronald Jerome Clarke was fatally shot last month in the Back of the Yards, police said he was affiliated with a gang. Definitely not the case, according to his family.

“He was never a part of a gang because his parents and grandparents would not allow it,” his mother, Demetria Hudson, said. “He never sold drugs or indulged in any type of violence.”

According to his mother, “Ronald may have affiliated with gang members because they were his childhood friends, but he was not a gang member. These were Ronald’s childhood friends who killed him.

“Ronald was not a criminal; he was a hard worker who accomplished many things in life; he was just an all-around amazing man to know."

Friends and family attend the funeral of Ronald Jerome Clarke on Jan. 15 at Saint Basil Visitation Parish. | photo provided

His mom should know. “He was a mama’s boy and we talked about everything from girls to basketball, he was just an all-around beautiful person.”

Shantesia Hudson, Clarke's aunt, was devastated when informed of his untimely death.

“The young man that killed my nephew put a hole in our hearts that cannot be replaced,” she said. “His so-called childhood friends left my nephew in that apartment to die, but one of them called the police after they fled the scene.”

Clarke was at a friend’s apartment with several other friends the night he was shot. It happened in the 2000 block of West 52nd Place about 8:21 p.m. Jan. 5.

Ronald Jerome Clarke's high school graduation photo.

The 23-year-old and another person got into a fight, and Clarke was shot in the face, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiners office. He was taken to Stroger Hospital where he died about an hour later.

Clarke was the youngest of three sons who enjoyed many sports, including baseball, football and basketball, according to his mom. He also leaves behind an 11-month-old daughter "who will never get to know her father.”

Over 500 people attended his funeral, including elementary teachers, because "many loved him,” Demetria Hudson said.

A 2011 graduate of John Hancock High School, he later attended East West University and majored in Business Management. He was most recently working as a security officer at the Erikson Institute downtown.

“Ronald was also a part of the 100 Black Men program, where he mentored youth about bettering themselves,” his mom said. “Some of them went on to be college graduates.”

It's been tough for his family since that fatal night.

“I am sad most days because before he died I felt him hug me as if he were already gone,” Demetria Hudson said. “It just doesn’t seem real that someone would take his life; my son never caused any problems or harmed anyone.”

Ronald Jerome Clarke holds his daughter, Jayla Clarke. | photo provided

Shantesia Hudson is furious that no one will tell the police who shot and killed her nephew. As of Thursday, no one was in custody for the shooting.

“I do not understand why nobody will talk,” she said. “I keep thinking, 'Why would someone want to kill Ronald?' My nephew was the sweetest kid and he would do anything for you without hesitation. My ride to the funeral was one of the longest rides of my life.”

She said her nephew was just trying to better himself.

“Living in an impoverished neighborhood does not mean you have to be a product of your environment. It is not about where you come from, but where you end up at.”

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 16 people died from gunshot wounds in Chicago during the first full week of 2016

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 11 Jan 2016 16:00:34 -0600

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

The new year got off to a bloody start in Chicago, with at least 16 people, five of them teenagers, killed in shootings across the city last week, including at least four who died in a series of shootings Friday night.

The week ended violently with more than 30 people shot, and seven killed, from Friday night through Sunday.

One man was killed and a woman wounded in a shooting Saturday afternoon in Back of the Yards. Erick L. Lacey and the woman, both 19, were sitting in a vehicle in the 5200 block of South Peoria about 2 p.m. when a car pulled up behind them and someone inside started firing, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Lacey, who lived in the 5100 block of South May Street, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said. The woman was shot in the back and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where her condition was stabilized.

Two teenage armed robbers were shot to death by a liquor store employee Saturday night in Auburn Gresham. Police responded to a call of an attempted robbery at Z&S Food and Liquor at 1351 W. 87th St. just after 8:30 p.m., authorities said.

Two teenagers had walked into the store about 30 minutes earlier and announced a robbery. When one of them showed a handgun, a male employee took out his own weapon and fatally shot the two would-be robbers, according to police. They were identified as 15-year-old Keshawn Marzette and 17-year-old William Larson, both of the 8300 block of South Throop, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Raymon Blount was killed and four other men wounded in a Lawndale neighborhood shooting Friday night. The group was standing on a sidewalk in the 1500 block of South Kedzie about 8:45 p.m. when shots rang out, according to police.

Blount, 29, was shot in the shoulder and chest, and took himself to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died, police and the medical examiner’s office said. He lived in the 300 block of North Pine.

Two 28-year-old men each were shot in the right thigh went to the same hospital; and a 21-year-old man shot in the left ankle took himself to Saint Anthony. A 26-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the thigh but declined medical attention.

Another man was fatally shot in Belmont Cragin on Friday night. Emergency crews responded about 9:45 p.m. to the shooting in the 4500 block of West Deming, where they found 37-year-old Matthew Ehrenberg unresponsive inside a home with gunshot wounds to the armpit, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Ehrenberg, who lived in the same block, was dead at the scene, authorities said.

A man found shot to death in Chicago Lawn on Friday night was identified as 21-year-old Darius C.E. Brown.

Officers responding to a call of shots fired about 9 p.m. found Brown, who had been shot repeatedly in the head, inside a minivan parked in the 6600 block of South Fairfield, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Brown was pronounced dead at the scene at 9:35 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

Friday's first fatal shooting occurred in Ravenswood, just a few blocks from Mayor Rahm Emanuel's home. One man was killed and two others wounded after an argument broke out about 7:30 p.m. at a party inside an apartment in the 1900 block of West Belle Plaine, according to police.

Pablo Ulloa, 25, pulled out a handgun and shot a 23-year-old man in the neck and another 25-year-old man in the abdomen, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

The second 25-year-old then pulled out a gun and shot Ulloa in the chest, police said. Ulloa, of the 4700 block of North Whipple, was pronounced dead at the scene at 7:53 p.m, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The other two were taken in critical condition to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

A 17-year-old boy was fatally shot Thursday night in a drive-by attack in Brighton Park, and two men were captured and charged with the murder.

Bond was set at $1 million Sunday for Sergio Gonzalez and Jose Juarez, both 20, who opened fire from a white SUV as it passed 17-year-old David Gonzalez on the 3100 block of West 41st Place about 10:30 p.m., according to Cook County prosecutors.

Sergio Gonzalez and Juarez sped off after the shooting, but crashed about two miles away and were taken into custody after a foot chase.

David Gonzalez was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he later died. He lived on the block where the shooting happened, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Erskin Palm was found shot to death Wednesday night in the Princeton Park neighborhood. Police responded about 11:30 p.m. to the 9300 block of South LaSalle, where they found the 31-year-old on the sidewalk with gunshot wounds to the chest, according to police and the medical examiner's office.

Palm, of the 7700 block of South Laflin, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead about 45 minutes later.

Two South Side teens were killed and a third wounded in a Grand Crossing drive-by shooting Tuesday afternoon. They were standing on a corner in the 7600 block of South Dorchester about 3:30 p.m. when a vehicle pulled up and someone inside started shooting, according to police.

Donta Parker, 16, was shot in the head, and 17-year-old Sakinah Reed was shot twice in the chest. Both were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where they later died, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Another 16-year-old boy shot in the hand was taken to St. Bernard Hospital. His condition stabilized, police said. Parker lived in the 7800 block of South Cregier, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Reed was from the 9000 block of South Burley.

A man was killed in a Brighton Park shooting Tuesday night on the Southwest Side.

Jonathan Jimenez, 25, was getting out of a vehicle in the 4600 block of South Talman about 8:20 p.m. when someone in a passing vehicle shot him in the abdomen, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Jimenez, of the 1900 block of West Cullerton, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died less than an hour later.

A man was killed in a Back of the Yards apartment Tuesday night. Ronald Jerome Clarke, 23, was in an apartment in the 2000 block of West 52nd Place about 8:21 p.m. when he and another person got into a fight, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The other person shot Clarke in the face.

Clark, of the 2000 block of West 5300 block of South Hoyne, was taken to Stroger Hospital where he was pronounced dead an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.

A Pilsen neighborhood drive-by shooting Monday night left Jose Rodriguez dead and another man wounded.

Rodriguez, 33, was standing outside with a 36-year-old man in the 1700 block of South Leavitt about 7:30 p.m. when someone in a passing vehicle opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Both were taken to Stroger Hospital.

Rodriguez was shot in the chest and buttocks, and died at 1:52 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. He lived in the 2100 block of West 18th Street. The older man was shot in the buttocks and his condition had stabilized.

A 21-year-old man was shot to death Monday morning along a Safe Passage route in Austin. Jeffrey A. Mattix was shot multiple times in the chest just after 8:20 a.m. in the 300 block of North Central Avenue, according to police and the medical examiner’s office.

Mattix, who lived a block away in the 400 block of North Central, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died, according to the medical examiner’s office.

The block where the shooting happened lies on a Safe Passage route for Ellington Elementary School. The shooting happened less than two blocks from the school, and police believe it was gang-related.

The violent week also included the death of Franklin Carlos Aguilar, who died Wednesday, nearly two weeks after being shot on Christmas Day in Back of the Yards.

Two men were sitting in a vehicle in the 4700 block of South Loomis about 2:10 a.m. Dec. 25 when a vehicle pulled alongside and someone shot them, according to police. The 39-year-old Aguilar was shot in the head, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died Wednesday, authorities said.

Ronald Jerome Clarke fatally shot during fight in Back of the Yards apartment

Jeff Mayes — Wed, 06 Jan 2016 15:12:34 -0600

Ronald Jerome Clarke was killed in a shooting in a Back of the Yards neighborhood apartment Tuesday night.

The 23-year-old was in an apartment in the 2000 block of West 52nd Place about 8:21 p.m. when he and another person got into a fight, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The other person then shot Clarke in the face.

Clarke, of the 5300 block of South Hoyne, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 9:25 p.m., according to the medical examiner’s office.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire