Quentin Thompson / Photo from Facebook

BY TINA SFONDELES
Chicago Sun-Times

A Chicago teen being held in Iowa on a gun charge has now been charged with murder for the Auburn Gresham shooting death of Quentin A. Thompson this month.

Thompson, 27, was shot March 28 in the 8800 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, authorities said. Thompson was paralyzed after the shooting and died April 3, prosecutors said.

Lamonte Morbley, 17, was being held in a Dubuque, Iowa, jail on a unrelated gun charge, prosecutors said.

While in the jail, Morbley made phone calls where he admitted to his involvement in the shooting after a drug deal went bad, prosecutors said.

Video surveillance captured Morbley and another person across the street just before the shooting, prosecutors said.

Witnesses also identified Morbley as the shooter, prosecutors said. Thompson was subsequently charged as an adult with first-degree murder.

Morbley is a former Urban Prep Academy student, according to a public defender.

On Saturday, Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Morbley held without bond. His next court appearance is scheduled for Monday.

Courtney Jackson was killed, and another man was wounded, was gunfire erupted in the Humboldt Park neighborhood Friday night.

The men were inside a car in the 1100 block of North Springfield Avenue when a gunman walked up and opened fire about 10:50 p.m., police said.

Jackson, 36, of the 1400 block of North Lotus Avenue, was shot in the chest and died at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center at 1:21 a.m. Saturday, authorities said.

The other man, 35, was shot in the neck and was taken in serious condition to Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center, police said.

The gunman ran away after the shooting, police said.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area North detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Anastacio Gonzales / Photo from Chicago Police

A 51-year-old man has been charged with murder in the early Saturday stabbing death of a 50-year-old restaurant owner at his West Town eatery.

Anastacio Gonzales was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery for the attack at El Taco Naco at 2640 W. Chicago Ave., police said.

About 1 a.m. Saturday, Gonzales stabbed Hermenegildo Vilchis in the chest during an argument, authorities said.

Vilchis, of the 3800 block of West Diversey Avenue, died at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center less than an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Vilchis owned El Taco Naco, according to public records.

Gonzales, of the 2600 block of West Rice Street, is scheduled to appear in court Sunday for a bond hearing.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Luis A. Perez was shot to death in the Little Village neighborhood early Sunday.

Police found Perez, 43, shot in the head in the 2300 block of South Washtenaw Avenue about 5:20 a.m., authorities said.

Perez, of the 2700 block of West 24th Street, was dead at the scene, according tot he Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

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

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY MICHAEL LANSU
Homicide Watch Chicago Editor

Seven people were killed throughout Chicago last week.

The victims included a 58-year-old woman who was found strangled, a 50-year-old restaurant owner and a downstate woman.

Five of the slayings happened over the weekend, when at least 30 others were wounded by gunfire.

The most recent killings happened when a 34-year-old woman and man in his 20s were fatally shot while walking in the 2700 block of North Lavergne Avenue in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, police said. The Cook County medical examiner's office has not yet released their names.

In the Little Village community, police found 43-year-old Luis A. Perez shot in the head in the 2300 block of South Washtenaw Avenue about 5:20 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

Perez, of the 2700 block of West 24th Street, was declared dead at the scene, according to the medical examiner's office.

On Saturday, 50-year-old Hermenegildo Vilchis was stabbed in the chest during an argument at his restaurant, El Taco Naco, in the 2600 block of West Chicago Avenue in West Town about 1 a.m., authorities said.

Vilchis, of the 3800 block of West Diversey Avenue, died at Presence Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center less than an hour later, according to the medical examiner’s office.

Anastacio Gonzales, 51, from the nearby 2600 block of West Rice Street, was charged with first-degree murder and armed robbery, police said.

On Friday, 36-year-old Courtney Jackson was inside a car in the 1100 block of North Springfield Avenue in the Humboldt Park community when a gunman walked up and opened fire about 10:50 p.m., authorities said.

Jackson, of the 1400 block of North Lotus Avenue, was shot in the chest and died at Saints Mary and Elizabeth Medical Center early Saturday, authorities said. A 35-year-old man in the car was also wounded, police said.

On Wednesday, police found a 58-year-old strangled in the 2500 block of West Moffat Street in Logan Square at 5:45 p.m., authorities said. The medical examiner's office has not yet released her name.

The killing started early Wednesday when when gunfire erupted about 1:50 a.m. in the 4500 block of North Broadway in Uptown. Jennifer Ponton, 24, was shot multiple times while riding in a passing vehicle.

Ponton, of the 1200 block of Madison Court in downstate Bradley, died hours later at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, according to the medical examiner’s office.

She was the 100th homicide in Chicago this year, according to the medical examiner's office.

In 2015, the medical examiner’s office has ruled at least 105 Chicago deaths a homicide, including one person fatally shot by police.

Devante Warnsby, 21, was fatally shot April 8 in the South Chicago neighborhood. Reader "Sunshine" posted this about him:

Devante Warnsby was a wonderful young man just trying to find his way he has held the same job for the last 16 months he just had started a second job he was waiting for his results from his EMT test he was hoping he had passed so he could start a career he literally always made everyone laugh and smile he didnt deserve this he was like a little brother to me and it saddens us all to have to say good bye in this way love u forever baby boy RIP

Marshawn Fleming Jr. was shot to death on the South Side Monday afternoon.

Fleming, 18, was shot in the back about in the 6000 block of South King Drive about 2:45 p.m., authorities said.

Fleming, of the 6800 block of South Wabash Avenue, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

BY SAM CHARLES
Sun-Times Media

A nightclub owner’s management practices and the City of Chicago’s negligence led to a fatal shooting outside a Bucktown nightclub last month, a newly filed lawsuit alleges.

The lawsuit was filed Monday in Cook County Circuit Court by the estate of Deonta Jackson and names Sam Menetti, owner of Dolphin Chicago, and the City of Chicago as defendants.

About 3 a.m. March 16, a fight broke out inside the club at 2200 N. Ashland Ave., police said.

As the fight continued, security guards pushed Jackson toward the nightclub’s north exit, at which point someone fatally shot him, according to the suit.

Jackson, 35, of the 600 block of West 115th Street, was shot multiple times and pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Another man, 41-year-old Elijah Moore, of the 7700 block of South Bishop, was also killed in the shooting, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. Two other men were also shot and survived.

The lawsuit stated that Menetti failed to properly train his security employees and failed to properly control crowds at the nightclub.

“But for Mr. Menetti’s negligent operation of a dangerous nightclub, Deonta Jackson would not have been shot and killed at said club,” according to the suit.

Menetti could not be reached for comment Monday evening.

The city knew of the problems at the nightclub after several reminders from 32nd Ward Ald. Scott Waguespack, the suit said.

“But for the City of Chicago’s negligence in ignoring Alderman Waguespack’s repeated requests to close Dolphin Nightclub, the club would have been closed long before the incident in question caused Deonta Jackson’s death,” according to the suit.

A spokesman for the city’s Department of Law declined to comment, saying the department has not had an opportunity to review the suit yet.

Two days after the shooting, Mayor Rahm Emanuel moved to make it easier for the city to shut down bars with a history of police incidents. Until a shuttered bar provided a “plan of action” to address safety concerns that would need further approval, it would remain closed.

Calls to the Dolphin Nightclub were not answered Monday evening.

The five-count suit alleges wrongful death and seeks more than $250,000 in damages.

Marshawn Flemon Jr. was shot to death on the South Side Monday afternoon.

Flemon, 18, was shot in the back about in the 6000 block of South King Drive about 2:45 p.m., authorities said.

Flemon, of the 6800 block of South Wabash Avenue, died at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

D’Montre Smith was fatally shot in the Washington Heights neighborhood Monday night.

Smith, 21, was standing in the 10200 block of South May Street when a dark car drove past and somebody inside opened fire about 10:30 p.m., authorities said.

Smith, who lived on the block, was shot in the chest and police found him lying in a gangway, authorities said.

He was later declared dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

A man and woman were shot to death when gunfire erupted in the Belmont Cragin neighborhood Sunday morning.

Michelle Malave, 34, and Simmy Madrid, 30, were walking in the 2700 block of North Lavergne Avenue when someone got out of a car and opened fire about 6:30 a.m. Sunday, authorities said.

The woman was struck in the head and the man was shot multiple times, police said. Both were taken to Illinois Masonic Medical Center.

Malave, of the 3300 block of Rose Street in Franklin Park, was shot in the head and died about an hour later at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, authorities said.

Madrid, of the 1600 bock of North LeClaire Avenue, was shot multiple times and died that afternoon at Illinois Masonic Medical Center, authorities said.

An autopsy confirmed that both died of multiple gunshot wounds, and their deaths were ruled homicides, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killings.

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

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

David Finney / Submitted photo

BY MATT McCALL
Homicide Watch Chicago

David Finney was almost done with an airbrushed mural of Michael Jordan and the 1992 U.S. men's Olympic basketball team, a friend said.

He will never get the chance to finish that mural because he was fatally shot April 10 during a domestic argument at his Morgan Park home, authorities said.

Friend Ashley Jones said Finney was an airbrush artist whose Roseland studio, Beyond Urban, kept the neighborhood safe.

Jones, 23, said Finney was always coming up with new ideas for drawings.

In 1999, Finney had a minor moment of fame as a mural artist for the film “Light It Up,” starring Usher Raymond and Forest Whitaker, Jones said.

Finney and Jones met at St. John’s Baptist Church, and she described him as a life-long mentor who encouraged her to go to school for graphic design.

“He taught me how to be a lady,” Jones said. “He saw me grow up from a baby to a lady.”

Prosecutors said Finney returned to his home in the 11300 block of South Green Street about 10 p.m. April 10 and got into an argument about money and bills with his brother, 42-year-old James Finney.

David Finney’s girlfriend then heard a single gunshot and James Finney say, “I just popped your ass,” prosecutors said.

James Finney ran away after the shooting, but police arrested him about 15 minutes later, prosecutors said. He was charged with first-degree murder and is currently being held on $1 million bond.

James Finney will be back in court May 1.

“[He] didn’t deserve what happened to him,” Jones said. “If anything were to happen, he would have wanted it to happen in his presence. He wanted us to be safe.”

Jaquille Reams was shot to death in a North Lawndale store Tuesday afternoon.

Reams, 21, was inside a store in the 3400 block of West Ogden Avenue when he was shot several times about 1 p.m., authorities said.

Reams, of the 100 block of North Lamon Avenue, died less than an hour later at Mount Sinai Hospital, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

Mechelle Lewis / Photo from ABC7

BY TINA SFONDELES
Chicago Sun-Times

Charges were pending Wednesday for a man suspected of gunning down his ex-girlfriend as she sat in a minivan with her two young children in the South Shore neighborhood.

Mechelle Lewis, 28, was shot to death about 9:50 p.m. Tuesday as she sat in a parked minivan with her children in the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue, authorities said.

After the shooting, the man took the children — an 8-year-old girl and 5-year-old boy — and drove away in a car, authorities said.

He drove to the Grand Crossing District police station at 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave., where he was taken into custody, police said.

The children were not hurt and a weapon was recovered from the minivan, police said.

Family and friends on Wednesday taped a card to a tree outside an apartment complex and placed flowers and teddy bears on the ground near where Lewis was killed.

Neighbors heard gunfire Tuesday night.

David Lowry said the block has seen its share of crimes, with some gang activity in the area. Lowry said he worried most about the children.

“It’s just very sad. I feel for those kids,” said Lowry, pastor of St. Thomas Lutheran Church at 8000 S. Jeffery Blvd.

Lewis had been a manager at a McDonald’s restaurant near 47th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue for years. Employees said Lewis was a cheerful person. They plan to hold a prayer vigil for Lewis.

In a statement, the restaurant’s owner, Yolanda Travis, said the entire McDonald’s team is mourning the loss.

“She was such a beautiful person and will be missed,” Travis said.

The 34-year-old man in custody was arrested in 2002 for attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to court records. In that case, he was found guilty of aggravated discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Victor Chatmon / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

Just three months after he was threatened in a Cook County courthouse, the survivor of an attempted murder was again targeted, this time fatally, prosecutors said.

South Sider Joseph Burdine, 24, had survived a shooting in 2010. But when his would-be killer, M.O.B. Gangster Disciple DeAndre Curtis, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in December, Curtis’s family allegedly threatened Burdine for showing up in court.

And on March 19, one of Curtis’s pals came for Burdine, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Karr said in court Wednesday.

This time, the gunman didn’t miss.

Victor Chatmon— another member of the M.O.B. Gangster Disciples — was ordered held without bond Wednesday for Burdine’s murder.

Burdine was walking from Miska’s Liquor store in the late morning when Chatmon gunned him down in the 7900 block of South Kedzie Avenue, Karr said.

Two people who lived nearby witnessed the shooting while sitting on their couch, looking out their picture window, Karr said.

One witness saw Chatmon on 80th Street, heard a gunshot and saw Chatmon shoot Burdine three to five times, striking him in the back and chest, Karr said.

Both witnesses then saw 23-year-old Chatmon run into an alley and through a gangway before crossing Kedzie and running into a parking lot between the liquor store and neighboring day care center, Karr said.

Surveillance footage from the liquor store, which captured Burdine, also caught Chatmon running in the area following the shooting, Karr said.

Joseph Burdine / Photo from DNAinfo Chicago

The witnesses from the nearby home identified Chatmon, who was arrested on Monday.

Chatmon, of the 9200 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue, has a 2011 possession of a stolen motor vehicle conviction and five misdemeanors on his record.

An electrician, he has two children, including a three-month-old baby, his attorney said.

He previously shared an address with Curtis, who was in 2010 charged with attempted murder and aggravated battery for shooting at Burdine, authorities said.

When Curtis was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Dec. 9 after pleading guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm, his family and Burdine got into a physical altercation and Curtis’ family threatened Burdine for showing up in court, Karr said.

Since that time, Curtis has filed a motion to withdraw his guilty plea. He is due back in court on April 28.

Myron Mason / Photo from Chicago Police

BY RUMMANA HUSSAIN
Chicago Sun-Times

A 33-year-old South Side man gunned down his ex-girlfriend in front of their two young children because he was angry over the transmission of a sexually transmitted disease, Cook County prosecutors said.

“I know what I did. I’m the one that called. I killed her. I killed my wife,” Myron Mason allegedly told police after he drove himself to the Grand Crossing District police station and was arrested for Mechelle Lewis’ murder Tuesday night.

Although Assistant State’s Attorney Barry Quinn wouldn’t give details, he told Judge James Brown on Thursday that Mason violently lashed out because he was upset over “a sexually transmitted disease.”

While their children — ages 8 and 5 — looked on, Mason shot Lewis eight times as she sat in the driver’s seat of her parked van outside her house in the 7200 block of South Bennett Avenue, Quinn said.

Lewis’ current boyfriend witnessed the shooting from the corner of 72nd Street and Bennett Avenue and called 911, Quinn said.

Mason and Lewis, who broke up in December after a 10-year relationship, had been arguing over the phone prior to the deadly shooting, Quinn said.

A few minutes later, when Lewis pulled up to her street, she saw Mason was waiting there in his white Buick, Quinn said.

Seeing her ex, the 28-year-old woman drove around the block before coming back, Quinn said.

Mason had driven away but quickly pulled up, got out of his car and allegedly began firing.

The couple’s 5-year-old son was in the front passenger seat of the van and their 8-year-old daughter was in the back when the bullets showered into the vehicle, Quinn said.

Mason then took his son out of the car, then leaned down and whispered something to Lewis before hitting her head with his gun, Quinn said.

Mason dropped the weapon at the scene and fled in his Buick with his two children in tow, Quinn said.

Mechelle Lewis / Photo from ABC7

But since Lewis’ current boyfriend gave police a description of Mason’s car, he was stopped 10 minutes later.

Mason’s arrest report says he was stopped at 7040 S. Cottage Grove Ave., which is the Grand Crossing District police station.

“I don’t have a gun on me,” Mason told police, according to the report. “I dropped it by my car.”

Mason, a purported member of the Black P. Stone street gang, admitted to shooting Lewis and had called his sister and Lewis’ stepfather to admit what he did, authorities said.

His children also identified him as their mother’s killer, Quinn said.

Brown ordered Mason, of the 8600 block of South Kingston Avenue, held without bail Thursday.

Mason was arrested in 2002 for attempted murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, according to court records. In that case, he was found guilty of aggravated discharge of a firearm and was sentenced to six years in prison.

Jeremy Collins was killed and another man was wounded when gunfire erupted in the Bronzeville neighborhood early Tuesday.

Collins, 26, was shot multiple times while driving in the 400 block of East 47th Street about 2:20 a.m. Tuesday, authorities said.

Collins, of the 700 block of North Monticello Avenue, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

A 26-year-old passenger was also shot numerous times, police said. That man showed up Provident Hospital with gunshot wounds to the back and neck and was transferred to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area Central detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

A 16-year-old boy was shot and killed in the South Shore neighborhood Thursday night.

Amari R. Sutton was found shot in the chest and neck outside in the 1400 block of East 73rd Street about 6 p.m. Thursday, authorities said.

Sutton, who lived on the block, died at the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

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

-- Sun-Times Media Wire

D'Monte Smith / Photo from Twitter

BY MATT McCALL
Homicide Watch Chicago

Architecture student D’Montre Smith dreamed of designing a skyscraper for Chicago’s skyline, family said.

As a child, Smith once built an igloo with his three brother's in the front yard, family said.

But the 21-year-old never got the chance to design actual buildings, as he was fatally shot in the Washington Heights neighborhood Monday night.

Smith was standing in the 10200 block of South May Street when a dark car drove past and someone inside opened fire, authorities said.

Smith brother, Torrence Smith, described him as a leader amongst his friends. At the time of his death, he was working at FedEx and attending City Colleges of Chicago, where he studied architecture.

D'Montre Smith had attended Marcus Garvey Elementary School and graduated from Simeon Career Academy. He later enrolled at Alcorn State University in Lorman, Miss. He left after one year, and came back to Chicago.

“He’d always tell his friends to get away [from Chicago's violence],” Torrence Smith said.

His mother, Karol Smith, said he was on his way to his girlfriend’s house when he was shot. She believes his death was a case of mistaken identity.

“My son didn’t deserve this,” she said. “The people taking other people’s lives, they need Jesus.

Smith, who lived on the block, was shot in the chest and police found him lying in a gangway, authorities said.

He was later declared dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area South detectives are investigating.

Rashad A. Abdullah was fatally shot near his Marquette Park home Friday morning.

Abdullah, 26, was outside in the 7000 block of South Talman Avenue when two people approached from behind and shot him about 10 a.m., authorities said.

Abdullah, who lived on the block, died at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn about an hour later, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.

Nobody has been charged for the killing.

Area South detectives are investigating.

-- Sun-Times Media Wire