Arnold Dearies was killed in a drive-by shooting Monday night in the Englewood neighborhood.

Dearies, 26, was in the 7100 block of South Green Street when a white car drove past and someone inside opened fire just before 7 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Dearies, of the 7100 block of South Champlain Avenue, was shot once in his side and twice in his right leg, authorities said. He died less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

After the shooting, the car drove away north on Green Street, police said. Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Damion Bryant was fatally shot July 11 in the Austin neighborhood. Reader "Matt Rega" posted this about him:

Wooooow!!!! My brother from another mother. My favorite customer. My heart goes out to his mother Tangie, his sisters, and the many others that Damion knew. Gonna miss you big homie

Arnold Dearies memorial / Photo by Michael Lansu

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Arnold Dearies was a well dressed man who would literally give people the shirt off his back, friends said.

Dearies, 26, was in the 7100 block of South Green Street about 7 p.m. Monday when a white car drove past and someone inside opened fire, authorities said. He was struck multiple times and died from his injuries less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

On Tuesday, friends gathered at the intersection of 72nd and Green streets to construct a memorial and share memories.


Arnold Dearies memorial / Photo by Michael Lansu

"He was a nice dude," said area resident Bud. "He was in the wrong place at the wrong time."

Friends said the former Robeson High School student was focused on taking care of his children.

"He would give you his last," said Sedrick Monroe. "If you asked for $20, he'd give it to you."

Friends said Dearies grew up in the area and described him as a well-dressed man who would literally give people the shirt off his back.

Arnold Dearies / Submitted photo

One friend, Robert, recalled a time when he was dirty and Dearies gave him a clean white T-shirt.

Police said Dearies was a documented gang member, but friends denied that claim and called him a "good kid."

After the shooting, the car drove away north on Green Street, police said. Nobody has been charged for the murder as Area Central detectives continue to investigate.

Julio Perkins was fatally shot in the head early Tuesday in the West Pullman neighborhood.

Perkins, 30, was shot outside his home in the 11600 block of South Stewart Avenue about 2 a.m., authorities said.

Witnesses told investigators they heard five or six shots then saw two males running away from the area, police said.

Perkins died less than an hour later at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Devonte Carthan was shot to death in the Burnside neighborhood Tuesday night.

Carthan, 17, was riding a bicycle in the in the 9200 block of South Dobson Avenue when a silver car drove up and someone inside opened fire about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

An acquaintance drove Carthan, of the 13200 block of South Langley Avenue, to Advocate Trinity Hospital, where he later died, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

Joel Bentley was fatally shot July 5 in a Clearing neighborhood parking lot. Reader "LaShanda" posted this about him:

Joel was a man who's life was deserving of a better summary than all the stories I've read and it has been over a month. Joel's past may not have been one without many faults and darkness, but I am a witness that there was a change in him that is not being spoken of. He helped a lot people and had become a positive influence to many who were less fortunate than him. He was a part of a new circle that embraced him without prejudice of his past or affiliations and in return he left us with only good memories of him. The BIR CNC Team definitely lost a valuable player.

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

A West Side man was ordered held in lieu of $75,000 bond Wednesday for allegedly running over and killing a woman with his sister’s SUV before fleeing the scene of the deadly accident.

Julio Lopez had left his sister’s house in the early morning hours of Nov. 17 and was driving home in the SUV when he hit Latasha Amos in an alley in the 1100 block of North Mason Avenue, authorities said.

Lopez got out of the car and saw the Amos lying motionless but he went back inside the vehicle, drove around the block, parked and went home, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Glen Runk said.

Lopez didn’t notify the police but at work that day, he told someone that he hit a woman with his car in an alley and left her there, Runk said.

Amos, 37, of the 4700 block of West Adams Boulevard, was taken to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where she died that morning, according to the medical examiner’s office.

An autopsy determined Amos died from multiple injuries from an SUV striking a pedestrian and the death was ruled a homicide.

But Lopez, of the 1000 block of North Mason Avenue, was only charged with leaving the scene of accident and failing to report it following his arrest on Monday.

Lopez, 26, who has no criminal background and works at a foundry, allegedly admitted to police that he struck Amos.

Jabari Scurlock / Family photo

BY ANGELIQUE WHITE
Homicide Watch Chicago

Jabari "Snoop" Scurlock wanted to become a brain surgeon if he didn't make it to the NBA.

Jabari, 16, was shot in the back about 8:30 p.m. Sunday in the 5900 block of South Justine Street in the West Englewood neighborhood and died less than an hour later, authorities said.

“If I could tell him one thing right now it would be sorry. I’m sorry I left Chicago to try to better myself. I tried to be the perfect dad,” said his father, Jabari Scurlock Sr., who lives in Minnesota. “I would have stayed out there and went through the struggle with you. I didn’t mean to let you down.

“Chicago is no place for a child anymore.”

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

“I use to think about retaliation but now that I’m older I can’t think like that anymore, I just pray and ask God to bring justice to my son,” Scurlock Sr. said. “I want the police to do their job and I want justice for my son.”


Jabari Scurlock memorial / Photo by Michael Lansu

Jabari, who had five younger siblings, attended Excel Academy of Englewood, where his favorite subjects were math and science, said his mother, Kenyada Lester.

“He was going to be the brain surgeon and I was going to be the nurse,” said his girlfriend, who is not being named because she is a juvenile.

Jabari was learning how to drive for prom, his girlfriend said. He hoped to get his driver's license this week, according to his mother.

“We were supposed to go to prom together, I can’t even go to prom with him anymore,” said his girlfriend, fighting back tears.

Scurlock Sr. said he gave his son advice on life and relationships.

“I told him to stay in school first, you’re too young to worry about love," Scurlock Sr. said. "Love will find you when you’re ready."

In addition to school, Jabari enjoyed basketball and played with a Jesse Jackson basketball team affiliated with the Rainbow Push Coalition, Lester said. The forward had dreams of making it to the NBA and possibly playing for the Miami Heat, one of his favorite teams, family said.

“He always had a goal he wanted to achieve,” his father said.

Besides basketball, Jabari enjoyed dancing and rapping, family said. He liked Chinese food, chicken and home cooked meals, his father said.

“He was always happy and joyful, and he loved rap music,” his girlfriend said. “He also loved to dance and bop, even though he wasn’t a good bopper, he still tried, my baby still tried.”

Jabari's family described him as a sharp dresser who enjoyed going to the mall for the latest fashions.

“He had to be dressed nice when he left the house, and he loved True Religion," his girlfriend said with a playful smirk.

BY EMILY BROSIOUS AND ANGELIQUE WHITE
Homicide Watch Chicago

As a child, Kashif Tillis' love of western movies earned him the nickname “Chiefy,” his mother said.

Tillis, 29, was fatally shot as he sat in his mother's car in the 7200 block of South Morgan Street about 4 p.m. Aug. 5, authorities and family said.

Tillis was taking his 3-year-old son to get a haircut when the gunfire erupted, said his mother, Debbie Tillis. Police said a black car pulled up and somebody inside opened fire.

Debbie Tillis said the young boy witnessed the shooting, which she believes is a case of mistaken identity.

“No one was looking for him, no one had problems with him,” Debbie Tillis said.

“It was senseless. It wasn’t for him. No mother should have to go through this ... Maybe they should bring in the National Guard, I don’t know, do something.”

Kashif Tillis had a close relationship with his family and lived with his mother in her house in the 7000 block of South Paulina Street the past 23 years, she said. He also helped cared for his grandparents with Alzheimer’s disease.

As a longtime West Englewood resident, Kashif Tillis attended Harper High School and was well known in the neighborhood, his mother said.

Kashif Tillis did not attend college because he thought it was too expensive, she said. Instead, he took classes so he could do electrician and heating work.

Debbie Tillis described her son as entrepreneurial and said he had dreams of owning his own trucking company. He wanted to take care of his three children, ages 3, 6 and 10, his mother said.

In addition to caring for his children, Kashif Tillis tried to help area residents in need of money by paying them to cut the the grass, his mother said.

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

Denzel Burke / Photo from Racine County (Wis.) Sheriff's office

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

When 15-year-old Denzel Burke received an order from an older Conservative Vice Lord to shoot at a rival they spotted on a sidewalk in Rogers Park, he and his teenage pal dutifully got out of the car they were traveling in and chased their prey, Cook County prosecutors alleged Friday.

“Wet that T-shirt up,” Eric Vaughn allegedly told Burke, encouraging him to wound the 19-year-old target before handing Burke a loaded gun on the afternoon of July 12.

Passersby also heard Burke’s friend, Michael Phillips, 17, further embolden Burke as the two chased after the other teen in the 1300 block of West Devon Avenue, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said Friday.

“Get his ass,” Phillips allegedly said as Burke fired 10 times, missing the rival but striking photographer Wil Lewis in the back as he stood at a nearby bus stop, Santini said.

After the shooting, Burke allegedly unloaded his weapon on Devon Avenue, and Phillips was heard urging him to flee: “Come on.”

Lewis, who had moved to Rogers Park with his wife two weeks before and was about to start a job as a staff photographer for an online men’s clothing store, died from his wounds less than an hour later at a nearby hospital.

Ald. Joe Moore (49th) witnessed the shooting as did another person who took pictures of Burke and Phillips as they made their escape, authorities said.

The two teens traveled to Racine, Wis. following the arrest of the 31-year-old Vaughn, authorities said.

They were taken into custody there earlier this month and extradited back to Chicago on Wednesday.

Burke and Phillips were both identified in line-ups and admitted their roles in the murder, Santini said.

Vaughn, of the 4400 block of North Claredon Avenue, was ordered held without bond last month.

Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Friday called Burke “dangerous” and also ordered him held without bond on murder and attempted murder charges.

William Lewis / Submitted photo

Phillips was ordered held in lieu of $1.5 million bail.

Burke was arrested as a juvenile this year for a robbery and a domestic battery involving his mother, Santini said.

Phillips, who goes by the nickname “Tay Black,” admitted guilt in a 2011 assault and a 2012 aggravated battery, according to records.

Burke, of the 800 block of West Grace Street, completed 9th grade at Lake View High School, Assistant Public Defender Ruth McBeth said.

Phillips has completed 10th grade, McBeth said.

LaDarryl Walters was shot to death Thursday night in the South Shore neighborhood.

Walters, 23, was shot in the head and chest in the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue about 9:20 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Walters, of the 0-100 block of West 110th Place, died a short time later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed Walters died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

A 16-year-old girl was killed in a drive-by shooting in the West Englewood neighborhood that also left a man wounded early Saturday.

Shaquise Buckner and the 20-year-old man were shot in the 7200 block of South Laflin Street about 12:50 a.m., authorities said.

Buckner, of the 1400 block of West 72nd Street, was shot in the head and died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

The man was shot in the back and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Walter Neely was fatally shot about a block from Chicago Police Headquarters Friday night in the Bronzeville neighborhood.

Somebody walked up to Neely in the 3400 block of South Indiana Avenue and shot him in the abdomen about 11:35 p.m., authorities said.

Neely, 25, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital less than 30 minutes later, authorities said. His home address was not immediately available.

The shooting happened about one block east of Chicago Police Headquarters at 3510 S. Michigan Ave.

Nobody has been charged for the murder.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Damian Rodriguez and 16-year-old Jason Seballos were killed in Logan Square shooting that left another man wounded Saturday night.

The three were inside a vehicle in the 2300 block of North Springfield Avenue when a gunman walked up and opened fire about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, police said.

After the shooting, the motorist attempted to speed away but crashed into several parked cars, police said.

Seballos, 16, of an unidentified home address, was shot in the face and back and died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, authorities said. Rodriguez, 21, of the 2300 block of South Keeler Avenue, was shot in the head and also died at Illinois Masonic.

The third person in the vehicle, an 18-year-old man, was shot in the finger and treated at Norwegian-American Hospital, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the murders.

Area North detectives are investigating if the shooting is gang related.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Kardeon Glover was shot to death early Sunday in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.

Police responding to a call of a person shot in the 900 block of North Karlov Avenue found Glover shot in the head on the sidewalk about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Glover, 26, of the 4100 block of West Grenshaw Avenue, died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, 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

James Sterling fatally shot his wife and wounded her sister before turning the gun on himself late Sunday during a domestic shooting in the Roseland community, authorities said.

Sterling got into an argument with his wife, 29-year-old Amy Holmes-Sterling, in the 400 block of West 104th Street and opened fire about 9:55 p.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Sterling, who lived on the block, then turned the gun on himself, authorities said. The couple were declared dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office, which listed Holmes-Sterling residence as in the 300 block of East 53rd Street.

Holmes-Sterling's sister, 26, was shot in the shoulder during the dispute and taken in to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn in critical condition, police said.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Eleven people were shot to death in homicides throughout Chicago last week.

Seven of the killings happened over the weekend, when 29 other people were shot and wounded.

The most recent murders happened when 37-year-old James Sterling and 29-year-old Amy Holmes-Sterling were killed in what police are calling a domestic shooting in the 400 block of West 104th Street in Roseland about 9:55 p.m. Sunday, authorities said. A 26-year-old woman was also critically wounded.

Sterling, 37, who lived on the block, and Holmes-Sterling, 29, of the 300 block of East 53rd Street, each died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

In the Humboldt Park community, 26-year-old Kardeon Glover was shot in the head on a sidewalk in the 900 block of North Karlov Avenue about 1:15 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Glover, of the 4100 block of West Grenshaw Avenue, died at Mount Sinai Hospital less than an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Saturday, 21-year-old Damian Rodriguez and 16-year-old Jason Seballos were killed in a shooting in the 2300 block of North Springfield Avenue in the Logan Square community about 11:45 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. An 18-year-old man was also wounded in the shooting, police said.

Rodriguez, 21, of the 2300 block of South Keeler Avenue, was shot in the head and died at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the medical examiner's office. Seballos, 16, of an unidentified home address, was shot in the face and back and also died at Illinois Masonic.

In the West Englewood neighborhood, 16-year-old Sharquise Buckner was shot during a drive-by shooting in the 7200 block of South Laflin Street about 12:50 a.m. Saturday, authorities said. A 20-year-old man was also wounded.

Buckner, of the 1400 block of West 72nd Street, was shot in the head and died at the scene, according to the medical examiner’s office.

On Friday, 25-year-old Walter Neely was shot in the abdomen in the 3400 block of South Indiana Avenue about 11:35 p.m., authorities said. The shooting happened about a block from Chicago Police Headquarters.

Neely, of an unidentified home address, died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital less than 30 minutes later, according to the medical examiner's office.

On Thursday, 23-year-old LaDarryl Walters was shot in the head and chest in the 7600 block of South Coles Avenue in the South Shore community about 9:20 p.m., authorities said.

Walters, of the 0-100 block of West 110th Place, died a short time later at Northwestern Memorial Hospital, according to the medical examiner's office.

On Tuesday, 17-year-old Devonte Carthan was shot while riding his bicycle in the in the 9200 block of South Dobson Avenue in the Burnside neighborhood about 11:30 p.m., authorities said.

Carthan, of the 13200 block of South Langley Avenue, died at Advocate Trinity Hospital, according to the medical examiner's office.

In the West Pullman community, 30-year-old Julio Perkins was shot outside his home in the 11600 block of South Stewart Avenue about 2 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said. Perkins died less than an hour later at Christ Medical Center, according to the examiner’s office.

The killings started when 26-year-old Arnold Dearies was wounded in a drive-by shooting in the 7100 block of South Green Street about 7 p.m. Monday, authorities said.

Dearies, of the 7100 block of South Champlain Avenue, was shot multiple times and died less than an hour later at Christ Medical Center, authorities said.

Nobody has been charged for any of the murders.

Overall, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 254 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.

Gabriel Johnson / Photo from Cook County Sheriff's office

BY BRIAN SLODYSKO
Chicago Sun-Times

Two men were ordered held on $1 million bond each Sunday for their roles in a police chase that ended in a fatal crash.

Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. set bail after prosecutors described how Gabriel Johnson, 18, and Dontrell Reese, 20, tried to outrun police but quickly spun out and crashed into a light pole Thursday evening near West 80th Street and South Lowe Avenue.

The red Chevrolet Monte Carlo they were in flipped on its side, killing 16-year-old backseat passenger Wally Flex, Assistant State’s Attorney Robert Mack said.

Before the crash, plainclothes Chicago Police officers were patrolling the area following reports of a nearby gang-related shooting, Mack said.

The officers noticed the Monte Carlo, which had a broken rear window, because it was circling the area of the shooting, Mack said.

The officers initially stopped the car. But when they approached, Johnson sped away, Mack said.

The officers watched as the car hit a speed bump and disregarded two stops signs, Mack said. Police chased the Monte Carlo until Johnson careened into a light pole and the car flipped several blocks later.

Flex, whose neck was broken in the crash, died at the scene, authorities said.

Reese was arrested after he climbed out of the passenger side window and tossed a black .32 caliber revolver, Mack said.

Johnson was pinned in the car and was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County with several fractured bones, Mack said. First responders found a loaded revolver tucked in his waistband.

Johnson, who tested positive for marijuana, was charged with reckless homicide, aggravated DUI and unlawful possession of a handgun, prosecutors said. He also was cited with several traffic offenses as well as not having a drivers’ license.

Reese, a convicted felon, was charged with felony unlawful possession of a firearm.

Martrell Ross was fatally shot this month outside a River North nightclub. Reader Dedric Wilson posted this about him:

Dam, that was my homie. We went to simeon together back in the day, smdh... R.I.H. Martrell