Nicholas Ramirez

BY EMILY BROSIOUS
Homicide Watch Chicago

Orlando Dominguez was held without bond Wednesday for allegedly causing a crash then fatally shooting injured driver Nicholas Ramirez in the West Town neighborhood last month.

“I still feel numb,” said Ramirez’ mother, Dalia Ramirez. “Nothing’s going to bring Nicky back, but at least something is being done to bring his killer to justice.”

Dominguez, 17, was charged with one count of first-degree murder. If convicted, he faces a sentence of natural life in prison.

“We want the harshest sentence possible,” Dalia Ramirez said.

Dominguez is accused of intentionally smashing into the SUV Nicholas Ramirez was driving, then shooting him dead after the crash.

Nicholas Ramirez, 19, was driving the SUV with four passengers inside near North Ashland Avenue and West Hubbard Street around 2:30 a.m. April 19, Assistant State’s Attorney Beth Novy said.

Dominguez chased the SUV to North Ashland and West Grand avenues, where he accelerated the Nissan Altima he was driving into Nicholas Ramirez’ SUV, authorities said.

The SUV then hit two other vehicles and crashed into a median in the 1600 block of West Hubbard Street, authorities said. The four passengers ran from the crashed vehicle, but Nicholas Ramirez was trapped in the driver’s seat, Novy said.

Dominguez exited the Altima and fired multiple shots into the SUV’s driver’s side window, Novy said. Dominguez and five passengers then allegedly fled in the Altima and abandoned the car short distance later.

Nicholas Ramirez, of the 3900 block of South Rockwell Street, died at the scene from a gunshot wound to the head, authorities said.

Family members described Nicholas Ramirez as a hard working White Sox vendor who wasn’t involved in any gang activity.

Nicholas Ramirez loved baseball and hoped to be an emergency medical technician, relatives said.

His uncle, Oscar Mendoza, described him as a “warmhearted” young man who “treated people well.”

“He was easygoing and always laughed things off,” Mendoza said. “People were drawn to his happiness.”

Ramirez Memorial / Photo by Emily Brosious

Nicholas Ramirez’ mother and his longtime girlfriend Melissa Collazo said they did not recognize Dominguez when he appeared in court and have no idea why he would have shot him.

Oscar Mendoza, Ramirez’ uncle, said the family was pleased with the way Chicago Police handled the investigation. Dalia Ramirez said she wished charges had come faster, but is hopeful Dominguez will receive a life conviction for the murder of her son.

Dominguez is currently on parole for a 2013 felony count of unlawful use of a weapon. He is expected back in court June 2.

BY JESSICA KOSCIELNIAK AND EMILY BROSIOUS
Homicide Watch Chicago

During the funeral service for Jabari Davis it didn’t matter if you were a North Sider or a South Sider, a Cubs fan or a Sox fan, everyone was on an even playing ground.

After nearly 10 years of working as a parking attendant for the Chicago Cubs, Davis loved the ball club.

Davis, 29, was fatally shot about 7:15 a.m. May 3 in his mother’s apartment in the 900 block of East 81st Street, authorities said.

Red and white flowers — including an arrangement with the Cubs logo — surrounded the white casket with blue satin lining as family and friends said farewell to the man known as a “Gentle Giant.”

The Cubs assisted the Davis family in covering funeral expenses and also provided a bus for more then 50 employees who attended the services. Cubs owner Tom Ricketts attended the wake.

“He had the most beautiful smile,” fellow Cubs parking attendant Carol Cuello said. “It was like a sunny day.”

Cuello recalled joking with Davis about finding a full-time job away from being a part-time "parker," but Davis said he was waiting to complete his 10th season with the organization.

“He was looking forward to his 10th-year pin," Cuello said.

Last week, Linda Davis sat on her sister's front stoop in the Grand Boulevard neighborhood, afraid to return to her apartment. She is terrified.

The grieving mother had just finalized her son's funeral arrangements with Leak & Sons Funeral Home. Going to Leak is a tradition for the Davis family.

Davis doesn't want to go back. Most likely, she won't go back — she can't erase the images of her eldest child lying on floor near the front door to her second-story apartment.

“It’s never going to leave my heart,” she said. “I saw my son lying there in a puddle of blood.”

Davis wonders whether her son would still be alive if her security requests to the Ranch Realty property manager were granted.

“My building was a trap — full of people doing and selling drugs, coming and going," she said.

At the very least, she wanted security cameras in the hallways. Something to make the residents feel safer.

But Ranch Reality took no action.

Less then a week after the murder, Earmer Young, owner of Ranch Realty, acknowledged that the situation in the building was “out of hand,” and said security problems had plagued the building long before he took over property management in February. But there were no plans for security enhancements because the owners “can’t afford it,” he said.

Grown men, mostly dressed in matching "RIP" shirts fought back tears as they pulled the casket
from the hearse and carried it to its final resting place in the east end of Oakwood Cemetery.

Deneen Weather took a few steps closer to the casket as her boyfriend — the father of her son — was lowered into the ground. She wailed in grief before turning away. This was too much

"I need Jabari," she yelled. "I want him back."

After the service, friends and cousins gathered near the grave, sharing stories and memories of their laidback friend known for staying away from trouble.

"He was loyal among wolves. . . . He was bridge builder no matter what side you was from," Robert Coker said while standing near the grave.

"He was one of the greats. His heart was too big."

All photos by Jessica Koscielniak

Daniel Kralik / Photo from Chicago Police

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Daniel Kralik was ordered held on $1 million bond Wednesday for allegedly strangling his girlfriend in her Humboldt Park apartment early Wednesday with her roommate in another room.

Kralik, 31, had been dating Victoria McManus for two years, and the couple had been living together for the past two months at her home in the 1200 block of South Rockwell Street, Assistant State's Attorney Alexandra Molesky said.

Two weeks ago, the couple got into a fight because McManus, 26, had a relationship with another man, Molesky said. Kralik initially planned to move out and stay with friends, but the couple reconciled and continued living together.

On Tuesday, the couple got into another fight at McManus' apartment, authorities said. McManus left her residence while Kralik stayed at friend's place until he "cooled off," Molesky said.

Instead, Kralik stayed at McManus' apartment and when she returned home the couple got into another argument in her bedroom, Molesky said. During the argument, Kralik allegedly strangled McManus with his hands.

The roommate heard the muffled sounds of an argument and a brief struggle, Molesky said.

Kralik called 911 and admitted that he strangled McManus after an argument, Molesky said. Police responded about 12:50 a.m. and arrested Kralik, authorities said. McManus was declared dead at the scene.

McManus was found lying on her bed with an abrasion on her forehead and a pillow covering her face, Molesky said. An autopsy confirmed McManus died of strangulation, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Kralik appeared in court wearing Thursday a white plastic jumpsuit because his clothes were taken as evidence. Judge Adam Bourgeois ordered Kralik held on $1 million bond and issued a next court date of June 4.

Kralik, whose parents live in Montana, had been working at an aquarium and fish store and has no criminal history, his public defender said. Police listed his address as the 2200 block of West Iowa Street.

Chasteddy Blocker was fatally shot this month on the West Side. Reader "Brandon" posted this about her:

Horrible. Such a beautiful lady lost to street violence.

Gerald Calhoun / Photo from Facebook

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Gerald Calhoun worked as a janitor to try and make a better life for his two children.

Calhoun, 29, was killed in a May 5 drive-by shooting less than a block from his Englewood home, authorities said.

Calhoun and a 35-year-old man were traveling in a vehicle south on Morgan Street when a white car pulled alongside them and an unknown shooter opened fire near 59th Street, authorities said.

Calhoun was struck in the chest and died less than an hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. The 35-year-old was shot in the leg and survived.

His mother remembered her youngest child as a man focused on changing his life to raise his children. He was a good father who always took his children wherever they wanted to go, she said.

Calhoun worked a number of odd jobs, including working at McDonald's and cleaning offices, his mother Darlene Calhoun said. He had ambitions to go back to school and eventually start his own janitorial business.

Court records indicate Gerald Calhoun had been previously charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated assault of a peace officer as well as manufacturing and delivering cannabis.

Gerald Calhoun’s father, Lee Brown, blamed his son’s various stints in prison on insufficient rehabilitative training in prison. Yet Gerald Calhoun was turning his life around in recent years, Brown said.

"When he got out he was working and doing OK. He had his own car, apartment and everything," Brown said.

He described his son as intelligent, a lot of fun and helpful around the house. Brown's last memory of his son is a brief greeting one morning before he headed off to work.

"This stuff is whacked up," Brown said. "I don't understand why gangs gotta be like they are, they can't get jobs out there for these people. It's simple. If you get jobs, they won't be hurting each other. They won't be shooting people. You need YMCAs, you need parks down here like you had them when I was coming up."

Darlene Calhoun said her son loved basketball growing up and never stopped playing pickup at the courts near his house. He was a fan of the Bears and the Bulls. The most important things in his life were his kids.

"I can't keep my mind focused on him, because that's going to get me down and crying all night and I don't wanna get like that," Darlene Calhoun said. "That was my baby. He was funny, outgoing. He made me laugh every day."

Police have initiated a homicide investigation after Gabriel Rios was found dead in an Austin alley with obvious signs of trauma early Friday.

Rios, 38, was found in the alley in the 5100 block of West Concord Place at 4:55 a.m., authorities said.

Rios, of the 5300 block of West Bloomingdale Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Authorities were not releasing the cause of death. An autopsy is scheduled for Saturday, according to the medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged in the death.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Daryl Lee / Photo from Chicago Police

Daryl Lee has been arrested in Iowa and charged with murder for allegedly shooting 16-year-old Marquis Harris in January.

Lee, 20, was arrested May 16 in Des Moines, Iowa, on warrants for first-degree murder, possession of a controlled substance and reckless conduct, police said.

Authorities claim Lee used a .45 caliber handgun to fatally shoot Harris in the chest about 11:15 p.m. Jan. 11 at a gathering in a second-floor apartment in the 6200 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue.

Harris was arguing with his girlfriend when Lee, a friend of the girlfriend, intervened, police said.

Lee left the gathering, then returned and shot Harris in the chest, authorities said.

Harris, who lived on the same block where he was shot, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Marquise Harris / Photo from Twitter

The victim’s mother, Patricia Harris, told NBC Chicago the shooting occurred in their home and the gunman was a neighbor.

“He went to school every day like I told him to do, and if he did anything wrong, I would put him on punishment and take his games away from him … He was 16 years old and he never disrespected no grown person,” she said.

Lee, of the 3900 block of South Lake Park Avenue, is expected to appear in court for a bond hearing on Saturday.

Jose Marroquin / Photo from Chicago Police

BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Chicago Sun-Times

Jose Marroquin has been charged with murder for allegedly stabbing 40-year-old Benito Juarez to death last month in the Little Village neighborhood.

Prosecutors said Marroquin and several friends were inside the Las Delicias restaurant at 4142 W. 26th at 4:40 a.m. April 27 when he saw Juarez walk by outside.

After exchanging gang signs, Marroquin ran out of the restaurant after Juarez and stabbed him once in the throat with a knife, Assistant State’s Attorney Claire Savaglio alleged in court.

Juarez was helped across the street by his friends, where he collapsed, Savaglio said.

Juarez, of the 2100 block of South 50th Avenue in Cicero, died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Benito Juarez / Photo from Facebook

The attack was allegedly captured on the restaurant’s surveillance camera, prosecutors said.

Marroquin, of the 2700 block of South Kildare Avenue, turned himself in to Chicago Police May 16 after an arrest warrant was for him, according to court records.

Marroquin, of the 2700 block of South Kildare Avenue, was ordered held on $750,000 bond Sunday.

-- Contributing: Sun-Times Media Wire

Charles Lee was shot and killed Saturday afternoon in the Austin neighborhood.

Lee, 32, was driving in the 200 block of North Pine Avenue when another vehicle pulled up at 4:26 p.m. Saturday and somebody inside opened fire, authorities said.

He was shot multiple times in his right side, authorities said. He attempted to drive away, but crashed a short time later, police said.

Lee, of the 1700 block of North Lotus Avenue, died at Mount Sinai Hospital at 5:04 p.m. Saturday, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Kendall Floyd was fatally shot late Saturday in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

The 20-year-old was in the 3400 block of West Madison Street when someone in a white minivan drove up and fired shots about 11:30 p.m., police said.

Floyd, who lived on the block, was shot in the head and chest and died at Mount Sinai Hospital 25 minutes later, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Dashawn Johnson was a quiet high school student who would get loud to sell candy bars in the hallways of his school to make money to support his young daughter, friends said.

Dashawn, 17, was shot in the jaw Saturday night near his home in the 9300 block of South Ada Street in the Washington Heights neighborhood, authorities said. He died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn the following evening.

A junior at Harlan Community Academy High School, his classmates remembered him as a friendly young father who avoided drama and mostly stuck by his girlfriend's side.

"It was unexpected," 16-year-old Tracie Vaughn said of Dashawn's death. "He kept to himself. When you did see him, he'd be smiling, talking to his friends in the hallway or with his girlfriend."

Tracie grew up down the street from Dashawn and often saw him sitting on his porch or waiting at a bus stop.

"It's hard," she said. "It's like you in denial for a minute, and one day will pass and you're OK. But after a while you realize he's really not here."

Dashawn appeared to mature when his daughter was born, Tracie said. He realized he had to settle down and take care of her even though he couldn't get a job because he was in school.

"He used to sell candy, and it would be the big candy too," Tracie said, laughing at the memory of Dashawn and his girlfriend soliciting their classmates in the hallway. "[They] used to yell, 'Y'all want some candy? Buy some candy.'"

Danisha Greyer, another Harlan student and close friend to Dashawn, remembered Dashawn primarily for his love of his baby and his desire to support his family.

She is disappointed the school isn't doing more to memorialize him. She wants events planned in his memory, posters to go up around his locker and a moment of silence.

Dashwan Johnson / Photo from Twitter

"They should be able to support their kids, someone who came here every day with no problems," Danisha said.

Danish said she hopes the school organizes something in memory of Dashawn, but if administrators don't comply, they students will put up a memorial anyway.

"He brought life into this school," she said. "Out of everybody in this school he was outstanding. I don't care how he looked, how bad his day was. He always made sure everybody happy."

One memory in particular stuck out for Danisha: "When my friend [Antonio Cooper] passed away, and I was just crying tears, he came over and was like, 'Best friend, don't be crying. You know you my granddaughter. Don't be having no tears in your face. You're too pretty for that.'"

Nobody has been charged for the murder. Area South detectives are investigating.

Monte Tillman / Photo from Facebook

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

Joliet-born Monte Tillman moved around the country in his youth, but he was always drawn to the culture and community of Chicago, family said.

Tillman, 33, was shot in the torso Monday afternoon in the 5200 block of West Lake Street in the Austin neighborhood, authorities said. He died about an hour later at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital.

Tillman's cousin, the Rev. Ezra Tillman of First Trinity Missionary Baptist Church in Flint, Mich., said Monte Tillman got involved in Chicago's gang culture and the family was "hurt but not shocked" to learn of his death.

"He was clear that was what his world was to him. In the circle he was in, the people he had around, I guess he had love and support," Ezra Tillman said. "He felt he was safe."

"The reality is if you're liked, you're also disliked," Ezra Tillman said.

As a young teen, Monte Tillman moved to Alabama with his grandmother. He spent a year going to school with his cousin, Ezra Tillman said.

The two cousins spent a lot of time at their grandmother's house, contended for the affection of a mutual crush and ran in the fields and played in the woods like "real southern guys," Ezra Tillman said.

Yet Monte Tillman yearned for Chicago and his family, Ezra Tillman said. He found comfort in his family and friends.

"He was a loving, passionate person, definitely a mild-mannered fellow," Ezra Tillman said. "He was the one to just sit and enjoy watching everyone else being loud and obnoxious and cracking jokes at family functions."

Ezra Tillman recalled a conversation he had with Monte Tillman at a relative's funeral about his lifestyle in Chicago. Ezra Tillman expressed concern his cousin was becoming too embedded in the city's gang culture.

"I was talking to him about being in the church, actually having Christ be a part of his life, if he was thinking about getting out of Chicago," Ezra Tillman said. "He didn't give any distinctive answer to say yes, so I felt as if he was trapped in that environment of not knowing 'Where would I go, what would I do?'"

Ezra Tillman believes his cousin was a victim of circumstance and environment.

He said he noticed certain warning signs that Monte Tillman was falling in with the wrong people. Monte Tillman would post photos on Facebook of himself posing with money in his hand, quotes implying a carpe diem philosophy that suggested "he wasn't really looking so far as future goals and dreams," Ezra Tillman said.

"Those types of things I know would breed greed, breed a street lifestyle potentially, bring about people who would set you up," Ezra Tillman said. "But he was flamboyant in that regard, in his dress, how he carried himself."

Ezra Tillman said he is less concerned about other members of the Tillman family in Chicago.

"If it can happen to someone else's family it can happen to your," he said. "[Monte Tillman] was a good person at heart. His personality would never reflect the ideas of a street life. His demeanor was peaceable. His attitude was respectful."

Kevin Diaz, 14, was fatally shot May 22 in the Chicago Lawn neighborhood. Reader "tbone" posted this about the murder:

Nobody's charged because nobody talks. So who'll be the next to die for some moronic and insane reason?

Paul Pyron / Photo from Facebook

BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago

More than 50 people gathered Wednesday night to light candles in remembrance of Paul Pyron, an aspiring rapper shot dead during a Tuesday night carjacking in the Ashburn neighborhood.

Pyron, 21, was driving a black Ford Expedition in the 2300 block of West 80th Street when two people approached about 10:25 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said. At least one person shot Pyron in the chest then drove off in the SUV. Pyron died later that night at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.

"I know bad kids. I know kids who don't have any aspirations or don't believe in anything, disrespectful, and I never got that from," said longtime family friend Larita Harvey. "I know a lot of people who have passed away that I can say, 'Yeah, they were just horrible.' Every time I saw him, he had the biggest smile for me."

Court records indicate Pyron pleaded guilty to a 2014 burglary charge and was sentenced to probation.

Harvey's son, Kevin Harvey, remembered his childhood best friend as a "really funny dude" who was always telling jokes. The friends enjoyed video games and playing baseball in the yard, he said.

Pyron was always mature for his age and self sufficiency was a core feature of his personality, Kevin Harvey said.

"PJ never asked me for anything, even though I was so close to him," Kevin Harvey said. "Him having that mindset that 'I'm not gonna depend on anyone else to succeed,' that independent factor he had about him, whatever I gotta do to survive, that was great about him."

Pyron, the youngest of three brothers, would often have joint childhood birthday parties with Kevin Harvey, who was almost exactly three years older, Kevin Harvey said.

Larita Harvey said she would often come home and find the friends engaged in bizarre pranks -- like playing dead as she walked through the door.

"They're all laying across the floor, the couches," Larita Harvey recalled. "I was like, 'Why would you do that?' and I started screaming at them and they just all broke out laughing. He was quite the jokester."

When Pyron was 6 years old, Kevin Harvey accidentally hit him in the eye with a plastic baseball bat, he said. Pyron screamed and cried but he didn't get angry.

"That's huge, to have that understanding at that age, because if it was the other way around, I probably would have tried to fight him," Kevin Harvey said. "PJ was not the type to hurt people. He was like a brother to me."

When the friends got older, Pyron and Kevin Harvey often drank together in secret at Larita Harvey's house and would get in trouble if she came home earlier than expected, Kevin Harvey said.

Most of the time the friends were just outside wandering around the neighborhood -- talking and play fighting with the girls on the block, he said.

"PJ, he had more game than me," Kevin Harvey said of Pyron's ability to approach women. "A lot of men out here are really disrespectful to women. With him, he wasn't like that. You see all these men calling women bitches and hoes, and he's actually a really respectful dude toward girls."

On Wednesday, family and friends gathered to light candles in remembrance Pyron. Pyron still lived with his mother, who appeared to be "in a lot of pain" when she attended the vigil, Larita Harvey said.

"I can't even think what it would be like ... even imagining it was wrong," Larita Harvey said. "You could tell she was suffering."

Craig Mitchell was fatally shot Thursday afternoon in the South Shore neighborhood.

Mitchell, 21, was shot multiple times in the 2400 block of East 74th Street about 12:30 p.m., authorities said.

Mitchell, whose home address was not released, was dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Malcolm Stuckey was killed and two other men were injured in a Thursday evening shooting in the Englewood neighborhood.

The three men were on a porch in the 5700 block of South La Salle Street when someone walked out of a gangway and fired shots about 6:10 p.m. Thursday, police said.

Stuckey, 19, of the 16000 block of Carrington Drive in South Holland, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at 10:35 p.m., authorities said.

A 23-year-old man was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County in serious condition with gunshot wounds to the mouth and leg, police said. A 24-year-old man was shot in the foot and took himself to Saint Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY STEFANO ESPOSITO AND EMILY BROSIOUS
Chicago Sun-Times and Homicide Watch Chicago

Betty Howard taught at Gwendolyn Brooks College Prep on the South Side, but her daily work often stretched far beyond its walls.

The beloved special education teacher, a innocent victim of gun violence Thursday evening, was also the “first lady” of New Light Holiness Church at 4740 W. Chicago Ave., where her husband of five years, the Rev. Major Howard is pastor. She worked as a case manager at the church and organized a tutoring program.

“Betty was a good woman ...” her husband said Friday. “She was all about the children.”

Howard, 58, of the 2200 block of South 14th Avenue in Broadview, was shot in the head about 5:25 p.m. in the 700 block of East 79th, police said.

Family said Howard, who had two sons and two grandchildren, was shot working her second job in her Chatham real estate office.

A 58-year-old man and a 23-year-old woman were also shot and treated on the scene, police said. The man suffered a graze wound to his abdomen, and the woman sustained a graze wound to her hand.

Betty Howard grew up in Englewood and valued education, persevering until she earned her doctorate, her husband said.

“She was always interested in educating children,” said Lynne Long, Howard’s sister-in law. “She wanted to give back in that way.”

“I used to tease her that she was a professional student. .... Dr. Betty Howard — the title meant a lot,” Long said.

As a teacher at Brooks, Howard would travel to homes to teach disabled students — doing whatever it took to help some of the city’s most challenged youth, Brooks Principal D’Andre Weaver said.

Howard, who taught at Brooks for seven years, even rode school buses to help out when school aides were absent, Weaver said.

Betty Howard/ Photo from Family

“She did it willingly, every single day — making home visits, working with kids after school, before school,” Weaver said. “We truly miss her, we love her and we’re really thinking about her family at this time.”

Inside Brooks, grieving students were writing “thank you” letters to Howard.

Shortly after noon, about 25 students from Howard’s home room released green and pink balloons, the colors of Alpha Kappa Alpha, the teacher’s Chicago State sorority with whose members she remained close.

“Betty’s death is an enormous loss of someone who meant so much to others,” Chicago Teachers Union President Karen Lewis said in a statement, “especially through her work as a special education teacher serving children with unique needs who required exceptional care.”

The randomness of the crime left her family with unanswerable questions.

“It’s crazy, she wasn’t a thief, she didn’t harm anyone,” Long said, noting Howard’s brother, Orlando Long, is a police officer. “This isn’t how it was supposed to end for her.”

Frederick Woods-Rivas / Photo from Chicago Police

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Frederick Woods-Rivas was ordered held without bond Friday for allegedly fatally shooting 17-year-old Ja-Quez Williams last month in the Austin neighborhood.

Ja-Quez was standing with a group on a sidewalk in the 5500 block of West North Avenue when 23-year-old Woods-Rivas walked up behind Ja-Quez and shot him in the back of the head about 2:05 a.m. April 26, said Assistant State’s Attorney Glen Runk.

Ja-Quez had gone out to get a submarine sandwich and was waiting for his uncle to pick him up when he was gunned down, his grandmother, Inez Williams, said.

Ja-Quez, of the 5400 block of West North Avenue, was dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

“He was a beautiful, vibrant person – full of life,” Inez Williams said. “It was a senseless thing, I really don’t understand. No children should be gunned down like cattle.”

After the shooting, Woods-Rivas fled to his nearby home, Runk said.

The shooting was captured on video surveillance and witnesses identified Woods-Rivas as the shooter, Runk said. Some of the witnesses knew Woods-Rivas from the neighborhood.

An arrest warrant was issued and Woods-Rivas was taken into custody in Minnesota and extradited back to Chicago on murder charges, Runk said.

On Friday, Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Woods-Rivas held without bond. He has no prior conviction as an adult and Assistant Public Defender Marijane Placek said he is not in a gang.

Tyneil Washington / Photo from Chicago Police

Tyneil Washington has been charged with murder for allegedly shooting a Gold Coast shop owner during an apparent robbery in March.

Washington, 29, is accused of fatally shooting 66-year-old Herbert Goode in the 2300 block of West 57th Street about 2 p.m. March 1, authorities said. Goode was the owner of Silver Cloud Gallery at 20 W. Ohio St.

Goode was standing near the driver's side door of his vehicle when Washington approached and a struggle ensued, police said. Washington then shot Goode in the chest and fled.

Goode died a short time later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Police issued a sketch of the shooter this month and distributed it throughout the Midwest.

The Champaign Police Department then contacted Chicago Police to let detectives know Washington lived in the area, Chicago Police said. He was arrested in Chicago on Thursday after a joint investigation involving the two departments and the U.S. Marshal’s office.

Washington, 29, of Champaign, was charged with first-degree murder, police said. He is expected to a appear for a bond hearing later Saturday.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Scene where Charles D. Short was fatally shot / Photo by Alex Wroblewski

Charles D. Short was killed in a Friday night shooting in the Fuller Park neighborhood that left another man wounded.

The men were standing in the 4200 block of South Princeton Avenue when a vehicle drove up and a male exited and started shooting in their direction about 6:30 p.m. Friday, police said.

Short, 51, of the 6700 block of South Indiana Avenue, was shot in the head and pronounced dead at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

The other man, 32, was shot in the chest and was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

Scene where Charles D. Short was fatally shot / Photo by Alex Wroblewski

-- Sun-Times Media Wire