Trayvon Wilson remembered for his determination, love of family, sense of humor and being the 'boss'

Tyler Holmes — Tue, 16 Aug 2016 08:00:15 -0500

By TYLER HOLMES
Homicide Watch Chicago

Trayvon Wilson | Facebook

Trayvon Wilson may have only been 20 years old, but that never held him back from knowing what he wanted and accomplishing his goals. With a relentless determination and a passion for working hard, he lived by his own motto – “boss up!”

“He was driven. He was the person who wanted the finer things in life,” D’andre Wilson said about his younger cousin. “He was a hard worker and it paid off for him. He wanted it the legit way.”

"Boss up" means to keep working hard to make money and staying on the grind.

Wilson was a family man from a young age. He wanted to keep his relatives together by making a bigger family and taking care of everyone, according to his cousin.

“We have a small family; my auntie’s kids and my mother’s kids. We always tried to joke around and have fun. Now there’s only seven of us,” Wilson said. “We used to always joke on him about being the baby of the family.”

Trayvon Wilson | Facebook

Wilson was washing his car, which was his pride and joy, behind his home in the Gage Park neighborhood around 7:15 p.m. June 25.

Someone approached him from behind and fired multiple shots into his back. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than two hours later.

“He didn’t care for gangs,” said Naomi Cole, Wilson’s close friend. “As long as his mom and kids were good, that’s all that mattered.”

But, “When other people in Chicago see you succeeding like that–whether you did it the right way or the wrong way–they don’t like that,” Wilson said.

His death is currently under investigation, however there are no suspects or leads about who the shooter might be.

“I remember at his high school graduation, he showed up and he was the only one walking with his gown open,” Wilson said through a laugh. “He tried to get me to do the same thing. He told me, ‘man up!’”

Trayvon Wilson was very proud of his car, friends said. | Facebook

Wilson will be remembered for his smile and his laugh, according to his family.

“He loved to make people laugh with his silly jokes,” Cole said. “That boy had the funniest jokes alive. Better than Kevin Hart, I’d say.”

Trayvon was the kind of guy that when everybody was feeling down, seeing him would brighten up the day, according to Cole. “He always had the best interest at heart.”

Wilson is survived by a 3-year-old son and 1-year-old daughter.

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 15 killed in violence in Chicago, pushing the year's homicide total to more than 300

Jeff Mayes — Mon, 27 Jun 2016 16:00:05 -0500

By JEFF MAYES
Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Police tape at an armored car robbery. | Brian Jackson~Sun-Times

At least 14 people died from violence in Chicago last week, including a woman who was stabbed to death by her ex-boyfriend on a crowded CTA train on the South Side, and the weekend was especially deadly, with seven fatal shootings reported between Friday night and Sunday.

The deadly week brought the Chicago murder total to at least 312 for the year, according to unofficial statistics compiled by the Chicago Sun-Times Wire.

The most shocking crime of the week came as a man and woman were arguing on a crowded CTA Red Line train Thursday afternoon and the man suddenly stabbed his ex-girlfriend repeatedly, killing her, police said. Jessica Renee Hampton, 25, was stabbed multiple times on a southbound train near the 47th Street station in Greater Grand Crossing at 12:33 p.m., authorities said. Hampton, who lived in the 6600 block of South Laflin, was pronounced dead at the scene. An autopsy showed she died of a stab wound to the neck.

Passengers on the train called 911 to report the stabbing, and an officer was already near the 47th Street Red Line stop as the train pulled up, police said. The suspect stepped off the train, saw the officer and surrendered. On Saturday, bond was denied for 29-year-old Arthur S. Jones, who is charged with first-degree murder for the attack.

The week's final homicide victim was a 67-year-old man who died Sunday night, after he and two other men were shot Saturday evening in the Englewood neighborhood. The group was congregating on a corner in the 700 block of West 66th Street about 6:45 p.m. Saturday when someone came out of an alley, fired shots and ran off northbound, according to police.
Lonnie King, 67, was shot in the back and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died at 9:43 p.m. Sunday, according to authorities. A 50-year-old man was also taken to Stroger Hospital with two gunshot wounds to the buttocks and his condition was stabilized. A 30-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the left hand and took himself to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center, where he was in good condition, police said.
Early Sunday, a man was shot to death in the Austin neighborhood. Officers responding to a call of shots fired at 5:08 a.m. in the 900 block of North Massasoit found 41-year-old Frederick Johnson in the driver seat of a car with two gunshot wounds to the chest, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. He was dead at the scene.
Selton Ellis was shot just 30 minutes earlier in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Ellis, 30, was standing near the front counter of a gas station near 72nd and Chicago at 4:27 a.m. when a male suspect entered and shot him multiple times, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he died.
About three hours earlier, a 55-year-old man who was killed in an East Garfield Park neighborhood shooting that also left two women wounded. The attack happened about 1:30 a.m. Sunday in the 700 block of North Ridgeway, where Wondale Collier was shot twice in the chest and a 35-year-old woman was shot in the leg, according to authorities.
Collier was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The woman’s condition was stabilized at Stroger Hospital, police said. Another woman, 19, later showed up at a hospital with an ankle wound, police said. She was in good condition.
A 20-year-old man was shot to death Saturday evening in the Gage Park neighborhood. Trayvon Wilson was washing his car about 7:15 p.m. in an alley in the 5800 block of South Maplewood when someone came up to him and fired shots, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. Wilson, who lived on the same block, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the back, and died 90 minutes later at Stroger Hospital.
A 26-year-old man was shot to death late Friday in Auburn Gresham. Reginald L. Turner of the 7700 block of South Peoria was on the street in the 7700 block of South Sangamon at 10 p.m. when a man shot him in the head, according to authorities. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Brandon J. Nolls, an aspiring rapper from southwest suburban Joliet who performed as PG12, was shot to death Friday evening in Humboldt Park. Officers responding about 9 p.m. to a call of a person shot in the 1000 block of North Harding found the 24-year-old lying on the ground, according to authorities. Nolls was shot in the left shoulder and back, and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead about 90 minutes later.
A 25-year-old man was fatally shot Friday afternoon while playing dice in Back of the Yards. Jeremy Clark was playing dice about 4:30 p.m. on the sidewalk in the 5000 block of South Elizabeth when a male suspect walked up, pulled a gun and opened fire, according to police and the medical examiner’s office. The shooter then ran away. Clark was shot in the neck, and was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
A man charged with fatally shooting one man and wounding another last week in West Englewood is being held without bond. Camron Howard, 18, is charged with one count each of murder and aggravated battery with a deadly weapon, according to police.
Two men, ages 28 and 38, were outside about 10:30 p.m. Thursday in the 6400 block of South Damen when someone walked up with a gun and started shooting, police said. The younger man, identified as 28-year-old Eric Burgin, was shot in the head and was pronounced dead at 10:56 p.m., according to police and the medical examiner's office. He lived on the same block where the shooting happened. The older man was shot in the leg and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where his condition was stabilized.
A 16-year-old boy died after he was shot Thursday night in the West Garfield Park neighborhood. Officers found Trevell Parker about 10 p.m. in the 4400 block of West Wilcox with gunshot wounds to the head and abdomen, police and the medical examiner's office said. Parker, who lived in the 1800 block of South Kedzie, was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he died.
A man was killed and a woman wounded in an Auburn Gresham neighborhood shooting early Wednesday. The pair was sitting on a porch about 12:35 p.m. in the 8800 block of South Ada when a male suspect walked out of a gangway nearby and fired shots, according to police.
Stanley Boston, 35, who lived on the block, was shot in the neck and foot, and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead. The woman, 22, suffered a graze wound to the foot.
Two teenagers are facing charges after 18-year-old Amari Catchings was killed in a crash as the group was fleeing police in a stolen vehicle Tuesday afternoon in Bronzeville. Officers investigating a call of a person with a gun walked up to a vehicle in the 4200 block of South State about 4:50 p.m., according to police. The vehicle then took off and crashed into another vehicle, which was carrying a 29-year-old woman and a 6-year-old boy. The woman and boy were taken to Stroger in good condition, police said.
Catchings, riding in the stolen vehicle, was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the stolen vehicle, 19-year-old Dominic Gipson, was taken to Stroger Hospital, according to police. Gipson was charged Thursday with felony counts of reckless homicide, aggravated possession of a stolen motor vehicle, and aggravated fleeing, police said. Another passenger in the stolen vehicle, a 17-year-old boy, was also charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and criminal trespass to a vehicle.

The woman and boy in the other car were taken to Stroger in good condition, police said.
Eugene Singleton was shot to death early Monday in the Greater Grand Crossing neighborhood. Officers responding about 1:30 a.m. to a call of a person shot in the 7300 block of South University found the 22-year-old lying in the gangway, according to authorities. Singleton was shot in the head and back, and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
In the week's first homicide, Ramal Hicks was shot multiple times early Monday in Englewood. The 34-year-old was shot in the lower back and chest about 12:45 a.m. in the 1500 block of West 69th Street, according to authorities. Hicks was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, where he was pronounced dead about three hours later.

Trayvon Wilson shot to death while washing car behind his home in Gage Park

Jeff Mayes — Sun, 26 Jun 2016 12:09:56 -0500

Trayvon Wilson was washing his car behind his home in the Gage Park neighborhood Saturday evening when someone with a gun shot him multiple times.

The 20-year-old Wilson was washing the car about 7:15 p.m. in an alley in the 5800 block of South Maplewood, authorities said.

That's when someone came up to him and fired a gun repeatedly, according to Chicago Police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Wilson, who lived on the same block as the shooting, suffered multiple gunshot wounds to the back, authorities said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 8:41 p.m.

--Chicago Sun-Times Wire

Trayvon Wilson | Homicide Watch Chicago

Trayvon Wilson remembered for his determination, love of family, sense of humor and being the 'boss'

WEEK IN REVIEW: At least 15 killed in violence in Chicago, pushing the year's homicide total to more than 300

Trayvon Wilson shot to death while washing car behind his home in Gage Park