Aaron Barnes, of the 9000 block of South Jeffery Boulevard, was arrested and charged Friday with three counts of first-degree murder in the fatal shootings of Chanda Thompson, her boyfriend Shawn Russell and their friend Cortez Champion. He is being held on a no bail arrest warrant.
Barnes' arrest come four months after prosecutors dropped murder charges in the case against another teen, 17-year-old Nicko Grayson, who authorities originally implicated in shooting. New evidence, including witnesses who came forward, pointed toward Barnes as the killer.
Authorities said the shooting was retaliatory and possibly gang-related.
Thompson, Russell and Champion, all 21, were fatally shot on Nov. 5 while sitting in a car outside A Piece of Cake bakery in the 400 block of East 87th Street. Thompson had just picked up a cake there for her daughter's birthday party when the shooting occurred.
Witnesses had originally identified Grayson as the gunman from an array of photos, and he was then identified by witnesses in a police lineup. But in January, prosecutors were forced to drop murder and unlawful vehicle invasion charges against Grayson because he was falsely identified by witnesses as the shooter.
Grayson now faces aggravated battery and robbery charges in a separate shooting from last year.
Barnes' criminal background shows he was convicted in 2011 of unlawful use of body armor and possessing a gun without a Firearm Owner’s Identification Card, both misdemeanors
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