Justin Hamilton / Photo from Chicago Police
BY SUSAN DU
Homicide Watch Chicago
Justin Hamilton allegedly fatally shot two fellow gang members during an on-going dispute over stolen items, prosecutors said.
Hamilton, 23, is accused of murdering 16-year-old Jordan Means and 18-year-old Anthony Bankhead in an apartment in the 8200 block of South Houston Avenue, authorities said.
Hamilton was charged with two counts of first-degree murder and Judge James Brown ordered him held without bond at a Tuesday court hearing.
Prosecutors said the killings were a result of an argument and fight about stolen items that began Friday between the victims and Hamilton and an uncharged accomplice. The dispute escalated when Means and Bankhead were ordered to leave the home of a fellow gang member, prosecutors said.
Means’ mother, Camille Cochran, said the dispute became public on Facebook.
On Saturday, Bankhead, Means and others were in Bankhead’s home in the 8000 block of South Houston Avenue when Hamilton and the accomplice entered the building to confront them about the dispute, prosecutors said.
Witnesses reported overhearing an argument on the first floor then several gunshots, prosecutors said.
Police found both teens dead on the scene, according to the Cook County medical examiner’s office.
Cochran said Means, who lived nearby in the 8100 block of South Coles Avenue, was her youngest child. He was a sophomore at Bowen High School, liked to play basketball and was a ladies man, she said.
“An argument led to this, that’s crazy,” said Cochran, 42. “Now, I don’t have my son no more.”
Witnesses said they saw Hamilton immediately after the murders with a gun in his hand, prosecutors said. He allegedly pointed the gun at several witnesses and threatened to kill their families if they provided any information before fleeing the scene.
Hamilton will be back in court May 9.