Police: Charges filed in West Pullman sexual assault

Charges have been filed against a Far South Side man accused of a fall 2011 sexual assault.
Dwayne Towns, 51, of the 12200 block of South Morgan Street, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault with a firearm and kidnapping with a firearm.
The attack occurred Sept. 4, 2011, in the 12200 block of South Sangamon Street and Towns was identified as the suspect through DNA evidence and a physical lineup.

Home invasion in Belmont Heights

 A 67-year-old woman was hit in the face after two men broke into her home in the 3700 block of North Oconto Avenue in the Belmont Heights neighborhood. The woman freed herself from the restraints and ran to a neighbor's home. The neighbor called 911.
The woman had bruises on her face but refused treatment from paramedics and told police she would go to the doctor with family members.
Police said the two attackers made off with jewelry and other items from her home.

Home invasion in Jefferson Park

Two women were bound while men ransacked their Northwest Side homes the last four days.
It’s not clear if the two incidents are related. The most recent happened around 7:30 p.m. Monday and the other around 11:30 p.m. Friday. The home are three miles apart.
In the first incident, in the 5200 block of North Mobile Avenue in the Jefferson Park neighborhood, a woman heard a knock and, assuming it was her husband, opened her door. Two men pushed their way inside but the woman later told police she heard three different voices.
The men tied her with a cord they found in the home and put her in the back of the house while they ransacked rooms and stole money and electronics.

Man shot to death in Wentworth Gardens neighborhood

A 25-year-old man was shot to death in the Wentworth Gardens neighborhood just south of U.S. Cellular Field on the South Side early Tuesday morning.
The shooting happened about 12:30 a.m. near 37th and Wells streets. The man was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital and pronounced dead there.
The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the man as August Galladay, and he was shot inside his home.
Police said the man's 67-year-old father was taken into custody and that he shot the 25-year-old during an argument.

Inmate, 17, hangs himself at Cook County Jail

A 17-year-old who was being held at the Cook County Jail on an armed robbery charge committed suicide early this morning.
While conducting a cell check around 12:43 a.m. Monday, an officer found Tyshawn Carter hanging on a bed sheet from his bunk bed . The officer immediately brought Carter down, attempted to revive him and then called 911. Carter was transported to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
After an autopsy Monday, the Cook County medical examiner's office ruled that Carter died of asphyxiation due to hanging and that the death was a suicide.
Carter, a Chicago resident, was charged as an adult with armed robbery and had been in custody since November. He was scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 3. He was not placed on suicide watch and was alone in the cell at the time of his death.
Smith said it is the sixth suicide at the Cook County jail this year.
Cook County is required by law to conduct checks on inmates every 30 minutes, although the jail conducts checks more frequently, Smith said. An officer had checked on Carter less than seven minutes before he was found hanging from his bunk.

18-year-old man shot in Ashburn

The shooting occurred on the 3700 block of West 82nd street in the Ashburn neighborhood at about 11:35 a.m.
An 18-year-old man with a gunshot wound to his right arm was transported to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. His condition has since stabilized

19 and 18 year old men shot in East Side

A shooting, on the 9800 block of South Avenue G around 12:21 p.m., left an 18-year-old man with a graze wound to the neck and a 19-year-old man injured. The two were in a vehicle when another vehicle pulled up and someone from inside began shooting.
The 19-year-old was injured when shrapnel from the shooting struck him in the arm pit, police said.
The men drove themselves to Advocate Trinity Hospital where their conditions had also stabilized

1 shot 1 shot dead in Pilsen

The Cook County medical examiner's office identified the man killed as Eulises Grandos, 22, of the 2400 block of South Central Park Avenue in Chicago. Grandos was one of two men shot about 2:05 a.m. Monday in the 1300 block of West Cermak Road in the Pilsen neighborhood. He was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition but later died. 
Another man, 21, was shot in the head in the same incident, which followed an "altercation" at a bar. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital though his condition wasn't available from police. The two were in a car when an SUV pulled alongside and someone opened fire; two other people were inside the car but were not wounded. The car tried to flee the shooters in the SUV but hit a tree about a block west, near 1400 West Cermak Road.

34-year-old man shot in Rogers Park

A 34-year-old man was wounded about 1:50 a.m. in the Rogers Park neighborhood on the Far North Side. He was in the 6900 block of North Sheridan Road when shot and was taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he's in good condition with a leg wound.

20-year-old man shot in Morgan Park

Just after midnight, a 20-year-old man walked into Roseland Hospital with gunshot wounds to his armpit and elbow. He was shot about 12:05 a.m. in the 11300 block of South Carpenter Street in the Morgan Park neighborhood. Police said he was sitting in a parked car with a few other people when someone stepped out of a nearby car, walked up and opened fire. The shooter fled and the wounded man drove to Roseland Hospital.

22-year-old man shot in Little Village

About 9:35 p.m. in the 2400 block of South Harding Avenue in the Little Village neighborhood, a 22-year-old man was shot in the buttocks and is in stable condition at Mount Sinai Hospital. Police said he was outside when someone fired shots from inside a dark van.

20-year-old man shot in Brighton Park

A man was shot about 8:20 p.m. near 47th Street and Western Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood. He drove to Holy Cross Hospital where he was treated for a leg wound. Police said the 20-year-old was in a parked car when someone in a passing dark vehicle opened fire.

19-year-old man shot in Austin

A 19-year-old man suffered a graze wound to the cheek about 6:15 p.m. in the 1500 block of North LeClaire Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood

20-year-old man shot in Englewood

About 5:11 p.m., a 20-year-old man was shot in the finger in the 6000 block of South Carpenter Street in the Englewood neighborhood. The man was in good condition at St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center

30-year-old man shot in Roseland

A 30-year-old man was attacked about 3:55 p.m. in the first block of East 101st Place in the Roseland neighborhood. The man suffered gunshot wounds to the leg, groin and arm and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. News Affairs did not have information on his condition.

Man charged in Midway Orange Line, Montclare rape attacks

A  30-year-old Park West man was charged with a pair of sexual assaults on Friday – one near the Orange Line at Midway Airport and the other in the Montclare neighborhood on the Northwest Side.
James Whiteside, of the 600 block of West Deming Street on the North Side. Whiteside was charged with 8 felonies in connection with the two attacks.
The first attack happened in the Montclare neighborhood about 2:30 a.m. on Dec. 27. Whiteside attacked a woman trying to get into her car after leaving a White Castle restaurant near Belmont and Harlem avenues
The attacker pushed his victim into her car as she opened the driver-side door and, holding a pair of 3-inch scissors and covering her mouth, told her not to scream.
The woman told police she noticed the man as she walked into the White Castle at Belmont and Harlem avenues but didn’t pay him much attention because she thought he was homeless.
The man threatened to kill her and then drove her to a nearby side street and raped her.
The man then kept her in the car, drove until the car broke down on Diversey Avenue and threw her car keys away. He took her phone, debit card and walked her to a bank to try and withdraw money.
The two walked to a nearby gas station and the attacker used $50 he stole from the woman to pay a stranger for a ride to the house of the attacker's aunt in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood. They stopped at a McDonald's along the way.
The attacker gave some of the woman's money to people at his aunt's house. He then called a cab, took two kids and the victim with him to a McDonald's and then to Harlem and Belmont avenues where he dropped her off.
He told her not to say anything to anyone before leaving. The woman went to a building a few blocks away and called 911.
She told police the man said his name was "James" but that "she should call him Mr. White or (Sergeant) Nelson" .
The second attack happened about 4:15 p.m. Friday in a secured parking lot off the Orange Line at Midway Airport in the Garfield Ridge neighborhood. Chicago police warned people in the area to be vigilant after the attack.
Police said the attacker pushed the 69-year-old woman into her car as she opened her door and demanded money from her before he raped her.
He tried to leave the lot by driving the woman's car but couldn't find the parking pass card so he told the woman to be quiet and duck while he used her money to fill out a parking slip and pay the attendant.
The woman was in fear for her life because her attacker drove her to the West Side and made continuous threats along the way.
While driving around the West Side, her attacker "purchased narcotics" twice and picked up a woman he knew, drove to a liquor store and used the 69-year-old's ATM card to get $200.
He dropped the woman off at a bus stop and she told the attacker to be careful. He then left the victim and her car in the West Garfield Park neighborhood at Madison Street and Pulaski Road.
The victim called 911 but left the area to report the crime from closer to home. Two more withdrawals were made for a total of $300.
Whiteside "implicated himself" to other people in the attacks and gave details consistent with the victim's account. He told residents he "robbed and raped a woman the night before".
Detectives were in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood when Whiteside showed up to a building where detectives were investigating and tried to run when he learned detectives were there.
They chased him into a basement stairwell in the 4100 block of West Crystal Street and he was arrested there.
He was charged with aggravated criminal sexual assault of a victim older than 60 years old, aggravated criminal sexual assault with a weapon, aggravated unlawful restraint, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery with a dangerous weapon, aggravated robbery and aggravated vehicular hijacking.

2 dead in Southwest Side wreck

A man and a woman died early Sunday morning when the sport-utility vehicle they were traveling in hit a utility pole on the Southwest Side.
The victims, who both appeared to be in their 20s, were dead on the scene in the 3700 block of South California Avenue in the city's Brighton Park neighborhood. The man was driving and the woman was his passenger.
They were inside a vehicle that was northbound on California when the driver lost control and hit the pole about 11:35 p.m.

3rd person charged in May dismemberment slaying

A third person has been arrested and charged in connection with the slaying and decapitation of a West Side man in May.
Milton Miranda, who is believed to be the boyfriend  of a woman already charged in the slaying, was arrested in Morristown, N.J. and charged with first degree murder in the death of Jose Reyes in May.
Daisy Gutierrez, 19, had earlier been charged with first degree murder in connection with Reyes' death and her father Salvador Gutierrez, 56, was charged with concealing a homicide.
According to what Cook County prosecutors said after Daisy Gutierrez was arrested and charged in October, she and her boyfriend had lured Reyes to her Southwest Side home, in the 8300 block of South Scottsdale Avenue, where she led him to her bedroom and began to undress. The boyfriend then kicked in the door and attacked Reyes, slitting his throat and later decapitating him.
The boyfriend then dismembered Reyes' body and Salvador Gutierrez dug a hole in the backyard and buried the remains.
Both Daisy Gutierrez and her father were arrested in October, but the boyfriend fled to New Jersey and a warrant was issued for his arrest. Miranda was taken into custody by Chicago police on Saturday.
Gutierrez has two children, ages 2 and 1, with Reyes' brother.
Reyes, of the 1400 block of North Harding Avenue in Humboldt Park, had been reported missing soon after he had gone to see Gutierrez and his family had peppered his neighborhood with fliers asking for information on the Honduran native's disappearance.
Reyes, whose age was listed by authorities as 28, though his family said he was 30, moved to Chicago five years ago in hopes of improving his life.
The oldest of four children, Reyes worked in construction and sent most of his money back home to Tegucigalpa, where he has family, his brother Jorge Moncada Ramos said. Reyes had planned to return to Honduras to take care of his ill sister.

Man shot in Roseland

At about 1:45 a.m. in the Roseland neighborhood on the Far South Side, one person was shot in the back in the 11300 block of South Harvard Avenue

42-year-old man shot in Tri-Taylor

A 42-year-old man was wounded about 1 a.m. during a gang-related shooting in the parking lot of a KFC in the 1100 block of South Western Avenue in the city's Tri-Taylor neighborhood.The 42-year-old was on a sidewalk near the lot when the gunman approached on foot and fired shots, hitting him in the left side of the face and in the left arm. The shooter fled in a dark-colored sport-utility vehicle and the victim was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital

2 shot in legs on South Side

Two teens were hospitalized Saturday evening after being shot in the legs on the Far South Side.
The shooting happened at 6:45 p.m. on the 10400 block of South Wallace Avenue in the Fernwood neighborhood.
A 17-year-old boy was shot in the left ankle and an 18-year-old man sustained a graze wound to his calf, said Alfaro. Both were taken to Roseland Hospital in good condition.
The two were walking together when they heard shots and felt pain

Man attacked woman at West Side bus stop

A Humboldt Park man faces felony charges after prosecutors say he attacked a woman at a West Side bus stop.
Kyle D. Hill, 28, of the 1200 block of North Kostner Avenue, is charged with aggravated criminal sexual abuse, criminal sexual abuse and misdemeanor possession of marijuana.
On Dec. 26, Hill jumped out of a van near a CTA bus stop at 4759 W. Chicago Ave. and grabbed a 32-year-old woman. Hill pinned down her arms and molested her.
Witnesses helped the woman get away, called 911 and held Hill until police arrived, he said. In a search during Hill's arrest, police found marijuana.

Woman, 69, sexually assaulted, robbed leaving CTA Orange Line

A 69-year-old woman was sexually assaulted and robbed as she exited an Orange Line CTA train and was getting into her vehicle on Friday.
The incident spurred a community alert by Chicago police officials who are warning people in the area to be vigilant.
The attack happened at 4:15 p.m. on the 4600 block of West 59th Street in the Garfield Ridge community.
The woman was returning home from work when she left the Orange Line train and was entering her vehicle, which was in a secured parking lot.
A man forced her into the vehicle after telling her he had a gun. Once she was inside the vehicle, the man sexually assaulted her and robbed her of money, a cell phone and an ATM card.
The man then drove the woman to various locations and forced her to make withdrawals from her bank account before he abandoned the woman and her vehicle on the West Side.
The man is described as a black man about 20 years old, between 5 feet 6 inches and 5 feet 9 inches tall and between 140 and 150 pounds.

Driver questioned after man dies in South Side crash

A 17-year-old boy was being questioned by police after a passenger in a vehicle he was driving died early today following a South Chicago neighborhood crash.
Darius Dudley, 18, was pronounced dead at 6:24 a.m. at John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital after an incident in the 8100 block of South South Chicago Avenue, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
Dudley lived in the 7700 block of South Greenview Avenue.
A 17-year-old boy was in police custody following the crash about 4:30 a.m. on South Chicago Avenue

Man held without bail in slaying of girlfriend's ex-boyfriend

A West Side man has been charged with first degree murder in the Friday morning slaying of a man in the Austin neighborhood.
Shaughnessy Simms, Jr., 31, of the 5900 block of West Midway Park, was arrested Friday morning and charged in connection with the Friday shooting death.
The victim was identified by the Cook County medical examiner's office as 36-year-old Jermale Richardson, of the 5100 block of West Ohio Street, in Chicago.
The shooting occurred about 3:50 a.m. Friday on the first floor of a building in the block where Simms lived. At the time, police said the shooting may have been related to a domestic dispute.

23-year-old man shot dead in Bronzeville

The fatal shooting happened about 4:10 a.m. Saturday in the 4500 block of Indiana Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. Police said two male shooters stepped out of a dark-colored sedan and opened fire on a 23-year-old man walking on the sidewalk.
The man was identified as Craig Williams who lived in the block where he was shot. Williams was struck multiple times but managed to run to a vacant lot before collapsing. He died on the scene.

23-year-old man shot in Englewood

About 4:30 a.m., a 23-year-old man was shot in the buttocks as he stood on the sidewalk in the 5700 block of South Laflin Street in the Englewood neighborhood on the South Side. Police said the man was in serious condition at John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County.

20-year-old man shot in Marquette Park

About 3:20 a.m. a 20-year-old man was shot in the lower abdomen after stepping out of a vehicle into a gangway to urinate in the 6400 block of South Homan Avenue in the Marquette Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The man was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and listed in serious condition.

25-year-old man shot in Brighton Park

About 2:50 a.m., a 25-year-old man was shot in the 4300 block of South Western Avenue in the Brighton Park neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The man was walking down the sidewalk when he heard gunfire and realized he was shot. The man sustained a gunshot wound to the shoulder and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

23-year-old woman shot in Little Village

About 1:10 a.m., a 23-year-old woman drove herself to St. Anthony Hospital after being shot in the arm. The woman told police she had been shot while sitting in a vehicle at a stoplight in the 2800 block of West 31st Street in the Little Village neighborhood on the Southwest Side. The woman did not provide police with a description of the shooter or the vehicle the shooter was traveling in.

2 men shot in South Shore

About 7 p.m. Friday, a 23-year-old man and 25-year-old woman were each shot in the arm during an altercation with a male in the 2600 block of East 76^th Street in the South Shore neighborhood on the South Side. After shooting the two, the male assailant struck the 23-year-old man with a blunt instrument.
The man and woman who were shot were both taken to local hospitals, where their conditions were stabilized.
Police took the shooter into custody, as well as a female who had provided him with the blunt instrument. Charges were pending early this morning.

Man, 70, shot during Gold Coast robbery outside Archbishop's Residence

A  70-year-old man was shot in the foot during a robbery outside the Archbishop's Residence in the North Side's Gold Coast neighborhood Friday night.
The man was walking his dog in the 1500 block of North Astor Street, adjacent to the mansion where Cardinal Francis George lives, when someone wearing a mask grabbed him from behind and put a gun to his head about 7:30 p.m. Friday.
"Give me your [expletive] wallet," the robber said.
When the 70-year-old explained that he doesn't carry a wallet, the assailant fired a shot into his foot. The man threw his cell phone and a few bills from a front pocket onto the ground in front of him, and the robber grabbed them and fled.
Hearing a commotion, the doorman of a nearby residence came outside and began to pursue the fleeing assailant down the street. The suspect turned and fired shots in the direction of the doorman and 70-year-old, striking a garage but not hitting either man.
Police confirmed that a man was shot during the course of a robbery on the block. The man's condition was stabilized at Northwestern Memorial Hospital

Man shot on Dan Ryan Expressway

A man who was driving on the Dan Ryan Expressway was reportedly shot in the face by someone in another vehicle.
The shooting happened at 11:15 a.m. on the northbound local lanes when he told police that he was shot from another vehicle.
The shooting happened near 59th Street and after the shooting the man drove his vehicle to St. Bernard Hospital and Health Care Center.
The man was later transferred to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County for his injuries which were believed to be minor.
The man told police that he was shot by someone in a gray Chevy Suburban SUV.

Defendant offered dismemberment as a 'present'

An 18-year-old man who was asked to move out of the Northwest Side apartment he shared with his aunt and her boyfriend killed the older man with a hammer, then cut off the man's head, ears and nose and left them on his aunt's bed "as a present" .
Police arrested a blood-covered Alexis Valdez after he dismembered Silvestre Diaz-Hernandez, 41, became exhausted and called 911 to report there was a dead body in their Belmont Gardens basement apartment.
When the 911 dispatcher asked Valdez if he had performed CPR, the young man laughed and said Diaz-Hernandez had been decapitated
Valdez had moved into the basement apartment in the 2500 block of North Kildare Avenue about six months ago with the understanding that he would go to school, work and help pay bills, Sawyers said. But Valdez did not help with expenses, even when he was working, which led to ongoing tension, he said.
Eventually, Valdez was told he had to move out.
On Christmas Eve, Valdez was home drinking while his aunt was at a party and Diaz-Hernandez was visiting family members. Diaz-Hernandez came home to find there was no beer left in the house and headed out with Valdez to a nearby drugstore to pick some up.
Valdez hid a hammer by the apartment's door before leaving, Sawyers said. The store turned out to be closed. When the two men returned home, Valdez let Diaz-Hernandez enter first, then picked up the hammer and struck him in the back of the head.
Diaz-Hernandez fell to the floor, and Valdez struck him up to 10 more times. Valdez then covered the windows, played loud music and began cutting apart the man's body.
He used a butcher knife to cut off Diaz-Hernandez's ears, nose and mouth, and also cut off the man's head and his left arm.
Valdez then put the head, ears and nose on his aunt's bed "as he, quote, 'Wanted to leave his aunt a present," .
According to an arrest report, police who responded to the home after Valdez called 911 on Christmas Day found him sitting in the front yard with an iPad in his hands.
When one officer asked, "What's going on?" Valdez replied, "Shouldn't you arrest me before you ask me questions?"
The officer then asked why he should arrest Valdez. "Because I just killed a man, and he's in the basement," Valdez said, before slamming the iPad to the ground, cracking its screen.
Valdez allegedly told police he would have killed his aunt, too, if she had come home and seen the body.

Cops search for hit-and-run driver in fatal accident

Police were searching for the hit-and-run driver of a van that struck and killed a 65-year-old man in the Englewood neighborhood Thursday afternoon.
The hit-and-run accident happened at 4:40 p.m. on the 1000 block of West 59th Street.
The van was traveling eastbound on 59th Street when it struck Jeffrey Bond of the 5800 block of South Carpenter Avenue.
Bond was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County where he was pronounced dead at 5:23 p.m.
The van, which continued driving east on 59th, struck Bond as he stepped out onto the street near a bus stop. The van is described as being either maroon or brown and fled from the scene.

36-year-old man shot dead in Austin

A 36-year-old man was shot to death around 3:50 a.m. in the 5900 block of West Midway Park in the Austin neighborhood. The shooting apparently happened in the first floor of a building and may have been related to a domestic dispute.
The man was dead on the scene. He was identified by family as Jermale Richardson.

,27-year-old man shot dead in Lawndale

On Thursday night, 27-year-old Dennis Glover died when two people walked up and opened fire as he walked with his girlfriend on his block in the Lawndale neighborhood.
The shooting happened in the 700 block of South Kilbourn Avenue about 8:10 p.m. Glover was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital at 8:46 p.m.

50-year-old man shot dead in Lawndale

At , about 7:20 p.m., a 50-year-old man from Oswego was shot in the chest in the 1600 block of South Central Park Avenue. Two assailants gained entry to an apartment and, after a struggle, Elijah Johnson was shot.
Johnson was pronounced dead at Mount Sinai Hospital at 8:01 p.m

24-year-old man shot in Brighton Park

About 11:15 p.m., a 24-year-old man was shot in the back in the 3500 block of South California Avenue. His condition was stabilized at MacNeal Hospital in Berwyn

16-year-old boy shot in Gresham

A 16-year-old boy was wounded Thursday afternoon in the Gresham neighborhood. The shooting happened about 3:10 p.m. on the 7700 block of South Green Street
Preliminary reports said the boy walked past a group and was shot in the stomach area and the hand. He was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

Texas man charged with DUI in crash that killed his 4-year-old son

A Texas man was ordered held on $250,000 bail Wednesday after being charged with reckless homicide and aggravated DUI in a weekend crash on the Dan Ryan Expressway that killed his 4-year-old son.
Franklin L. Jackson, 46, of League City, Texas, was driving with his family in the middle northbound lane near 87th Street when his blue and gray Ford Expedition veered to the far right lane and hit a guardrail twice.
Jackson continued on to the 83rd Street exit to check the damage and found that his oldest son, 4-year-old Franklin L. Jackson Jr., was missing. His son, who was sitting in the SUV's third row and was not wearing a seat belt, has been ejected through the back window
Police responding to the scene found him unresponsive in a grassy embankment along the expressway. He was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. He died of head trauma.
Jackson, who was taken to the hospital with a broken rib, said he didn't know his son had been thrown from the car until he stopped at a gas station to check on the damage to the car.
Police said Jackson admitted to drinking and driving, smelled of alcohol and had "glassy and bloodshot eyes." An empty vodka bottle and beer cans were scattered in the car.
Jackson's wife and three other children, ages 1, 2 and three months, were not injured. Police said everyone else was wearing a seat belt.

Dad was drunk and had pot in system in crash that killed daughter, 8

Eight-year-old Lauren Jessica Smith a 3rd grader was looking forward to opening the presents, especially a karaoke machine, as she returned from a Christmas Eve family dinner in the south suburbs. She was riding with her father, headed for her grandmother's house, when their car struck a curb and crashed into a tree in the 1000 block of West Garfield Boulevard around 11:15 p.m. Tuesday.
The car came to rest on the passenger side on the grassy median, authorities said.  Lauren was found dead inside the car and her father, 26, was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.
Firefighters spent about 40 minutes working to free the father, then they continued to search the crushed car and found the young girl trapped inside, officials said.  Firefighters freed Lauren in 20 minutes, but their efforts to save her life were unsuccessful.

2 teens wounded in SW Side drive-by

Two teens were wounded tonight in an apparent drive-by shooting on the Southwest Side in the city's Wrightwood neighborhood.
Shortly after 7 p.m., the teens, 19 and 17, were walking on the 8000 block of South Maplewood Avenue when a car drove by and someone fired shots.
The 19-year-old was shot in the left shoulder and the other victim, 17, suffered a wound to his right leg.
Both teens were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center, where their conditions were stabilized.

Man shot during bad drug deal called 911 before he died

A man shot during a drug deal gone bad was able to call 911 and give authorities a description of the getaway car before he died.
Daquon E. Renfro, 19, and Antonio Cox, 20, were charged with murder and attempted robbery after they allegedly approached 23-year-old Christopher Lang just before midnight on Sunday to buy some marijuana in the 3400 block of West 72nd Street in the Marquette Park neighborhood.
Prosecutors said Renfro pulled out a gun, and Cox began patting Lang’s pockets. Renfro then pointed the gun at Lang and shot him in the chest. The shooting was captured on video.
Bail was denied Wednesday for Renfro, of the 6000 block of South Wabash Avenue. Cox, of the 8400 block of South Throop Street, was ordered held on $2 million bail. Renfro had a warrant out for his arrest at the time of the shooting. Cox was on parole for a previous drug conviction.
Even after Lang fell to his knees, Cox searched the ground for the marijuana, prosecutors said. After Cox, Renfro and two others allegedly drove off in a 2000 Oldsmobile Alero, Lang made the 911 call.
Police spotted the Oldsmobile and began following the car, at which point someone tossed a bag containing a .38 revolver out the window. When the driver stopped, the four of them ran, but police were able to catch and arrest them.
Lang, of the 3500 block of West 72nd Place, was pronounced dead at 3:22 a.m. Monday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn

Woman dies after hit by car at Roosevelt and Damen

A woman died after she was hit by a car at Roosevelt Road and Damen Avenue about 4:40 a.m. Tuesday. 
Shena Brown, 44, was taken in critical condition to Stroger Hospital, where she was pronounced dead about 5:20 a.m. 
Police said the 67-year-old driver of the car that hit the woman remained at the scene and was being questioned. The driver was traveling west on Roosevelt when her car hit the woman

17-year-old boy shot in Austin

A  17-year-old boy was shot in the leg about 1:10 p.m. in the 5000 block of West Lake Street in the South Austin neighborhood on the West Side. The 17-year-old heard shots and felt pain; no other details were available about the shooting. He was taken in good condition to Mt. Sinai Hospital.

3 charged in home invasion shooting

Three Northwest Side men have been charged in connection with a home invasion and shooting Tuesday morning.
Jose Barriga, 18, of the 2400 block of North Mango Avenue, Sergio Mayim, 22, of the 2500 block of North Mango Avenue, and Matthew Andras, 25, of the 2200 block of North Menard Avenue, are all charged with attempted murder, aggravated battery and home invasion.
The crime happened about 9:30 a.m. Tuesday in the 2700 block of North Mango in the Belmont Central neighborhood on the Northwest Side. The three men forced their way into the victim's home to commit a robbery, police said; during the robbery, one fired a handgun at the victim, a 46-year-old man who was transported in serious condition to Adventist Illinois Masonic Medical Center.
The three fled before police arrived, but, after getting and broadcasting a description of the men and the vehicle they were in, officers searching the area found the vehicle with two of the men inside, police said. The third man was found at his home

22-year-old man shot dead in Logan Square

At about 7 p.m. police found a 22-year-old man bleeding from gunshot wounds to his chest, abdomen and legs in an alley on the 2300 block of North Ridgeway Avenue. The Cook County medical examiner’s office identified the man as Alexander Rodriguez, of the 2200 block of Meade Avenue. He was pronounced dead at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center about 8:30 p.m.

29-year-old man shot in Logan Square

A 29-year-old was wounded less in the 2500 block of North Avers Avenue in the Logan Square neighborhood. The man shot was in a car about 5:10 p.m. when someone on the street opened fire, hitting him. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center with a leg wound.

2 shot in Humboldt Park

Someone in a ski mask shot up an "impromptu memorial" Monday afternoon near the site of an earlier gang killing wounding two young men in the Humboldt Park neighborhood.
The first shooting, in the 300 block of North St. Louis Avenue in Humboldt Park, left 18-year-old and 21-year-old men wounded; both were taken to John H. Stroger, Jr.  Hospital of Cook County. The two were at the memorial for Ramon Colon, shot on March 6 at the intersection of St. Louis and Hirsch, when shots were fired from a Volvo SUV, hitting the younger man in the buttocks and the older man in the leg. It’s not clear how many people inside the SUV fired shots; several were wearing ski masks.
No one is in custody in connection with that shooting

Person in custody after hit-and-run in West Rogers Park

Police are questioning someone after a mother, father and son were critically injured by a hit-and-run driver in the West Rogers Park neighborhood.
The three were crossing Devon Avenue near Campbell Avenue, just west of Western Avenue, when they were hit around 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
Police said Monday evening they were questioning a "person of interest."
The car, believed to be a black Toyota Avalon, sped off and turned the wrong way down Maplewood Avenue and hit a Honda van. The driver of the van was not injured.
The father and son, 68 and 28, were taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and the woman, 71, was transported to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. All were in critical condition.
Their son, Faaiz Biabani, said his mother suffered a broken pelvic bone and will require knee reconstruction. His father suffered broken vertebrae and a broken foot, and his brother has a broken collarbone. All are expected to recover.
The three were visiting in the area and were about to get into their car when they were struck

1 killed, 1 injured in West Pullman shooting

A  19-year-old woman was killed and a 23-year-old man was injured in a shooting this afternoon in the West Pullman neighborhood.
The shooting was reported at 12:37 p.m. on the 11700 block of South Eggleston Avenue on the Far South Side.
A 19-year-old woman was shot in the head and taken to Roseland Hospital where she was pronounced dead.
She was identified as Natasha Green of the 11700 block of South Normal Avenue,. She was pronounced dead at 1:20 p.m.
Green and the man were walking westbound when a  gray car also driving westbound pulled up and someone from inside began shooting before fleeing.
The man was treated and released for his injury.

23-year-old man shot dead in Marquette Park

A  23-year-old man was shot and killed in the Marquette Park neighborhood late Sunday night and police caught three men wanted in connection with that shooting.
Chicago police, who are questioning the three suspects in custody, are still searching for a fourth person believed to be involved in the shooting at 72nd Place and Homan Avenue. The 23-year-old was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center after 3 a.m.
He was identified as Christopher Lang, of the 3500 block of West 72nd Place. He was pronounced dead at 3:22 a.m. at Advocate Christ Medical Center.
The attacker stepped out of a car about 11:46 p.m. and shot the 23-year-old in the stomach before getting back in and driving away.
Police were pursuing an Oldsmobile Alero believed to be involved with the shooting when the driver stopped the car near 73rd Street and Claremont Avenue and all four people inside ran.
One was caught at 73rd and Oakley Avenue, one was caught in the 7200 block of South Claremont, and a third was caught toward the south end of the 7300 block of South Oakley.
Officers found a revolver that was tossed from the car in the 7700 block of South Claremont

35-year-old man shot during robbery

A 35-year-old man was shot in the leg, wrist, thigh and abdomen about 12:10 a.m. Monday in the West Pullman neighborhood on the Far South Side. He was in a car in the 12200 block of South Aberdeen Street when shot and was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center.
Police said he was shot trying to flee a robbery. It's not clear if man's shooter got anything.

Man shot in Grand Crossing

About 1:50 a.m., a man in his 20s was shot near 73rd Street and Greenwood Avenue in the Grand Crossing neighborhood on the South Side. He was also taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center.

Assistant soccer coach charged with assaulting player, 14

A 30-year-old assistant youth soccer coach is charged with sexually assaulting a 14-year-old boy he recruited to play on two soccer teams.
Hector Morales, of the 2600 block of West 25th Street in the Little Village neighborhood, allegedly picked up the boy Friday and drove him to his soccer game, then bought beer on the way home that he gave to the youth.
Morales and the boy were drinking beer when the youth coach allegedly began fondling the boy and performed oral sex on him in the 2500 block of West Cermak Road.
“Defendant told the victim that this was their secret” . Morales then purchased soda and candy for the boy at a nearby Wal-Mart and dropped him off at home.
The boy immediately told a family member what happened and went to a hospital.
Morales was arrested Saturday when he went to the teen’s home to pick him up for another soccer game

Boy, 4, from Texas killed when SUV hits guardrail on Dan Ryan

Police are questioning a man from Texas who crashed on the northbound Dan Ryan Expressway, killing a 4-year-old boy who was thrown from the SUV.
Franklin Jackson Jr. was taken to Comer Children's Hospital after being found near the crash scene at 87th Street a little after 5 p.m. Sunday. The boy was pronounced dead at 5:25 p.m.
The boy's family lives in League City, Texas, a community southeast of Houston.
The boy had been riding in a blue and gray Ford Expedition when it veered from the middle lane to the far right lane and twice hit the guardrail. The back window was shattered and the boy was ejected.
The driver continued on to 83rd Street, where he stopped to check the damage and discovered the boy was missing, a source said. Emergency crews found the boy unresponsive on an embankment and the distraught 46-year-old driver at 83rd Street.
Also in the SUV were a 1-year-old boy, a 2-year-old boy, a 3-month-old girl and a 23-year-old woman. All of them were wearing seatbelts except the 4-year-old

Two teens shot by police on Far South Side

Two 15-year-old boys were shot by police Sunday evening in the Princeton Park neighborhood.
Patrick Camden, a spokesman for the Fraternal Order of Police union that represents rank-and-file officers, said the shooting happened when the driver of a car police had stopped tried to pull away, dragging a passenger that tried to escape the back seat.
Police suspected the car was stolen and stopped it about 5 p.m. Sunday near 95th and LaSalle streets.
"All of a sudden you have a passenger in the driver's back seat trying to get out, driver puts the vehicle in reverse, it's now heading toward officers that were approaching it. (The driver) puts it in drive, dragging the passenger in back seat. Officers open fire at that point, worried about the safety of the individual trying to get out of the car," Camden said.
One officer fired the shots, Camden said.
A statement released by the police department's Office of News Affairs said the car's driver fled on foot and someone else jumped in the driver's seat and put the car into reverse. The officer then opened fire, the statement said.
 There was no indication that any officers were injured in the shooting.
Two 15-year-old boys were taken with gunshot wounds to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, said Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Langford.
One of those shot was in serious-to-critical condition, but both were expected to survive.
Camden said a replica weapon was found in the car but that there was no exchange of gunfire. The statement from News Affairs said a weapon was recovered.

Two charged in meat cleaver, stun gun attack

A Chicago Heights man and a South Austin woman both face attempted murder charges after they allegedly lured a man into the woman's apartment Friday and attacked him with a meat cleaver and a stun gun.
Brian Herman, of the 100 block of West Raye Drive in Chicago Heights, and Shaquietta Brison, of the 0-100 block of South Mayfield Avenue, were also charged with aggravated battery with a deadly weapon in connection to Friday's incident.
It is not clear why the 19-year-old victim ventured into Brison's apartment Friday, but once he was in there, Herman attacked him with a meat cleaver, screaming, "I'm going to kill your ass.
As Herman hacked at the man, Brison jolted him with a stun gun, Logan said.
Herman was ordered held in lieu of $750,000 Sunday, while Brison's bail was set at $100,000.
The victim was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital and treated for cuts to three fingers that were deep enough to require surgery to repair as well as abrasions to the face and fingers.
Police were alerted to the melee when a neighbor called 911.
Herman and Brison are also facing charges for filing a false report.
When police arrived, Herman and Brison told police that the victim had broken into Brison's residence and that Herman had attacked the victim because he choked Brison and was about to sexually assault her.
Brison later recanted and told police the true sequence of events

Marshals corner carjacking/murder suspect in McDonald's drive-thru

A suspect in a string of weekend carjackings, including one that ended in a crash that killed an 11-year-old boy, was arrested this morning after U.S. marshals in SUVs pinned him in at a McDonald's drive-thru in Milwaukee.
Rockie Douglas, 34, was waiting for food at the McDonald's on the northwest side of the city when deputy marshals pulled in front and back of him around 11:30 a.m., according to Ed Farrell, supervisory inspector of the task force. A woman in the car with him was not injured
We developed information that he was on the north side of (Milwaukee)," Farrell said. "We were able to pin him in the drive-thru and keep him from fleeing again."
Douglas was spotted still driving the blue Honda Accord he had carjacked on the ramp from Interstate Highway 294 to the Reagan Memorial Tollway to escape police over the weekend, authorities said. He was taken to the Milwaukee County Jail to await extradition to Chicago
Douglas had been sought since Saturday when, driving a stolen car, he barreled into a Chevrolet Suburban and killed 11-year-old Donovan Turnage on the South Side. Donovan, his brother and their father were out getting haircuts for the holiday
 Douglas embarked on a carjacking spree around 11:20 a.m. Friday on the North Side, when he forced a woman out of a green Dodge minivan at a gas station along West Irving Park Road.
About noon on Saturday, officers responded to a 911 call of a suspicious vehicle at 51st and Halsted streets in the Back of the Yards neighborhood, another police source said. When officers identified the vehicle as the one that had been carjacked the day before, they tried to approach it but the driver sped away.
Police pursued the vehicle south on Halsted until at Garfield Boulevard it crashed into the Chevrolet Suburban carrying the Turnage family.
The suspect then raced away on foot and, authorities allege, carjacked another vehicle, a Toyota SUV, at a nearby gas station. While driving the SUV, the suspect rammed into a police sergeant's squad car before heading onto Garfield in the opposite lanes of traffic.
Chicago police stopped pursuing the driver once he entered the Dan Ryan Expressway about a mile away. He again drove in the wrong direction, heading north in the southbound lanes.
But then, according to the chain of events described by authorities, the SUV broke down on a ramp from I-294 to the Reagan Memorial Tollway. A motorist driving a blue Honda Accord tried to help the man, later identified by police as Douglas. Douglas allegedly forced his way into the car and sped off west on the Reagan toll way.
Police say Douglas displayed a handgun during at least one of the carjackings. Douglas may also be linked to robberies in Oak Lawn and Burbank that occurred on Saturday

11-year-old killed in South Side crash was on his way to get a haircut

An 11-year-old boy on his way to get a haircut with his father died Saturday afternoon after a traffic crash involving a stolen vehicle in the South Side's Englewood neighborhood.
Donovan Turnage, of the 5900 block of South Artesian Avenue, was a passenger in a Chevrolet Suburban when it was struck by a stolen vehicle about 12:30 p.m. near the intersection of West Garfield Boulevard and South Halsted Street.
Shortly before the crash, police had attempted to stop a vehicle in the area that had been taken in an armed carjacking. When officers activated their police lights in an attempt to curb the stolen vehicle, the driver sped off and struck the Suburban
Donovan and another passenger inside the Suburban, a man whose age has not been released, were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The boy was pronounced dead at 1:35 p.m.
Donovan was sitting in the backseat as his father drove him and his brother to get their hair cut. Donovan was ejected through a window during the crash.
After the crash, the driver of the stolen vehicle fled the scene in a second vehicle taken from a nearby location. Police were not releasing a description of the suspect or the suspect's vehicles Saturday night.
After the crash that killed Donovan, Illinois State Police believe the carjacker committed two robberies in Oak Lawn and Burbank. The carjacker then got a flat tire and flagged down an elderly couple, taking their vehicle on the ramp from Interstate 294 north to Interstate 88 west in Oak Brook.
Harris described the couple's car -- the third vehicle the carjacker is believed to have taken that day -- as a light blue 2007 Honda Accord. The carjacker was last seen heading west on Interstate 88.
State police believe the same person is responsible for another carjacking Friday on the North Side

2 men shot

About 10:50 a.m., police were notified of two men who walked into John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County with gunshot wounds. A 34-year-old man was in serious condition after suffering two wounds, including one to the abdomen, while a 24-year-old man's condition had been stabilized.

15-year-old boy shot in Hermosa

A 15-year-old walked into Our Lady of the Resurrection Medical Center with a gunshot wound to the right arm and told officers he had been shot about 7 a.m. in the 2000 block of North Kenneth Avenue. But he was largely uncooperative in the investigation. He was in good condition this morning.

28-year-old man shot in Austin

In another incident, a 28-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound to the leg about 12:30 a.m. in the 1200 block of North Menard Avenue in the North Austin neighborhood on the West Side. The wound may have been self-inflicted

27-year-old man shot in Bronzeville

About 1:35 a.m., a 27-year-old man was shot in the leg in the 4700 block of South St. Lawrence Avenue in the Bronzeville neighborhood on the South Side. The man was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where his condition was stabilized.

18-year-old killed in South Side shooting

An 18-year-old was killed Saturday evening .
The fatal shooting happened in the 7900 block of South Lafayette Avenue, in the South Side's West Chatham neighborhood. The 18-year-old was standing on the sidewalk with someone else when a dark SUV pulled up about 7 p.m.
Several people inside the SUV began shooting, and a bullet struck the 18-year-old, later identified as Leroy Griffin, in the head.
Griffin, who lived in the 7500 block of South Langley Avenue, was pronounced dead at 7:20 p.m.

Little Village man held in sexual assault of girl, 4

A Little Village man sexually assaulted a 4-year-old girl over several months in 2006, showing her pornographic films and asking her to copy what she sawprosecutors.
Patricio Garcia, 49, was ordered held in lieu of $500,000 bond today in connection with the attacks, which prosecutors said the girl reported earlier this month. The girl is cousins with Garcia, who babysat her at the time of the incidents.
Between June 2006 and September 2006, Garcia showed the girl pornographic movies and told her, "You need to do this for me or you'll see what happens" . Prosecutors said Garcia made the girl engage in sexual acts with him during that time.
About a week ago, the girl told a social worker at her school about the assaults.
After he was arrested, Garcia told authorities he "must've been possessed" when he sexually assaulted the girl nine years ago.
Garcia, of the 2300 block of South Central Park Avenue, faces four charges of sexual assault, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of a child

Teen killed man after questioning where he was from

Egged on by others, a teen fatally shot a man Thursday afternoon on the South Side after demanding to know where he was from.
Iman Frison, 18, was ordered held without bail Saturday in connection with the slaying of Andre Hunter, 19, about 2:40 p.m. Thursday in the Winneconna Parkway neighborhood.
While walking home from school near the 7700 block of South Stewart Avenue, Hunter and a witness were approached from behind by Frison. Frison pointed a revolver at Hunter's chest and asked him where he and the witness were from.
After Hunter moved the gun out of his way, other people surrounding Frison encouraged him to shoot Hunter. Frison shot Hunter five times, including three times after the victim had fallen and the gun had jammed.
Hunter, of the 7900 block of South Princeton Avenue, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead about an hour lateroffice.
A witness alerted police soon after the shooting. An officer drove after Frison and the others before getting out and running after them, noticing Frison was grabbing his waistband as if he had a weapon.
Kwilos said a gun fell from Frison as he fled, and his hand later tested positive for gunshot residue. Police confiscated a large-caliber revolver that came from his waistband.

Frison, of the 1700 block of East 72nd Street, has been charged with first-degree murder

Man killed in early morning crash on I-55

A 28-year-old man was killed in an early morning crash on Interstate 55 as he was approaching the Central Avenue exit.
The crash happened shortly before 3 a.m. when the car went out of control and veered off the northbound lanes of I-55.
Alcohol and speed appear to be a factor in the fatal crash.
As of 1 p.m., the man was identified as Enrique Salgado of the 2000 block of North Keystone Avenue.

Man charged in March slaying

A teenager has been charged in the March slaying of a man in South Shore, police said today.
Jarvis M. Lewis, 18, has been charged with murder in the March 23 killing of Antonio Grey, 26, who died after being shot in the 7800 block of South Muskegon Avenue. In a hearing midday today in Cook County Criminal Court, Lewis was ordered held without bail.
Grey was standing on the street when someone shot him in the back at 9:47 a.m. that day. Grey lived in the 8100 block of South Muskegan Avenue, and was pronounced dead at 12:09 p.m. March 23 at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Lewis, who lives in the 2800 block of East 78th Street, also near where Grey was shot, is on probation in a 2012 burglary case and had had a warrant issued for his arrest in June when he failed to show up for court in that case, according to court records. Police were able to obtain a murder warrant for Lewis on Dec. 12 that carries a $1 million bond, according to court records.

29-year-old man shot dead in Avondale

A 29-year-old man killed in the Northwest Side's Avondale neighborhood.
About 9:50 p.m., the man was standing outside in the 2800 block of North Talman Avenue when two male assailants approached on foot.
At least one of the assailants opened fire, striking the man in the shoulder. The man ran into a nearby home and collapsed. The man, identified as Jeffrey Anderson, of the home where he was found dead

28-year-old man shot in Belmont Cragin

About 4:30 a.m., a 28-year-old man was shot multiple times as he sat in the driver's seat of a double-parked SUV in the 4800 block of West Deming Place.
A red SUV pulled alongside his vehicle and someone opened fire. The man was struck in the head and upper body and taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition.

2 men shot in Edgewater

At about 4:30 a.m., two men were shot from behind while walking down the sidewalk in the 5800 block of North Kenmore Avenue.
One of the men, who is 52, was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston with a gunshot wound to the leg. The other, 43, was shot in both legs and was taken to Illinois Masonic. Both their conditions were stabilized

44-year-old man in West town

Shortly beofre 3 a.m., a 44-year-old man was wounded in an apparent drive-by shooting on the 1900 block of West Grand Avenue.
Preliminmary reports said the man was standing outside when a vehicle pulled up and someone fired shots in his direction. He was struck in the left hand and was taken in good condition to St. Mary's Hospital

28-year-old man shot in Little Village

A 28-year-old man was shot about 12:10 a.m. 3300 block of West 30th Street in the Little Village neighborhood.
Police were called to the block for a report of a person shot and found the man with a gunshot wound to the head. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where his condition was stabilized.

26-year-old man shot in Washington Park

About 6:20 p.m. Friday, a 26-year-old man was shot in the buttocks in the 300 block of East 58th Street. The man was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr., where his condition was stabilized.

17-year-old boy shot in Back of the Yards

In the Back of the Yards neighborhood, a teenage boy was seriously hurt Friday afternoon when he was shot in the head.
The victim, a 17-year-old boy, was shot in the head about 5:05 p.m. in the 1800 block of West 52ndStreet.
He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in serious condition

33-year-old man shot in woodlawn

In West Woodlawn, a 33-year-old man was shot about 4:25 p.m.
The man was on the street in the 400 block of East 63rd Street when someone came up to him and shot at the man several times, police said. The victim suffered a gunshot wound to the buttocks and a graze wound to the neck, and was treated at St. Bernard Hospital and Healthcare Center.

No bail for man charged in Rogers Park attack that blinded woman

A judge denied bail today for a 23-year-old man accused of a knife attack in the Rogers Park neighborhood that blinded a woman Thursday morning.
Basil Mohandie appeared before Judge Laura Marie Sullivan, who denied bail for Mohanie, charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated assault and battery with a deadly weapon.
The woman was stabbed in the eyes and face, and the tendons in both wrists were cut as well as a major artery in her leg, police said. She was attacked around 6:20 a.m. Thursday in the 1600 block of West Touhy Avenue.
Police said Mohandie, of the 6900 block of West Nelson Street, and the victim had met to talk Thursday morning.
The woman was listed in serious condition at Saint Francis Hospital in Evanston after the attack.

Suspect arrested after trying to rob off-duty cop in Lakeview

A man was taken into custody after trying to rob an off-duty Chicago police officer at knifepoint early this morning.
About 12:30 a.m., the 20-year-old man bicycled toward the officer as he was walking in the 1700 block of West Diversey Parkway. Displaying a knife, the suspect announced a robbery.
The off-duty officer announced his office and took his assailant into custody "without incident".
Police officers patrolling the area responded to help the officer and took the suspect to the Town Hall District station for processing.

Charges filed in 12-year-old's slaying

Authorities arrested and charged the suspected lookout in a May 2012 shooting that killed a 12-year-old boy as he ran to his South Side home for dinner.
Prosecutors said Denzel Garbutt was helping the unidentified gunman, who intended to shoot a gang rival but instead shot Nazia “Peanut” Banks in the 8000 block of South Brandon Avenue.
Chicago police arrested Garbutt, 21, while serving a search warrant at his apartment in the 8000 block of South Shore Drive on Tuesday night. Officers recovered a revolver, ammunition, what they suspect was marijuana and codeine-laced cough syrup.
Authorities said Garbutt told investigators that two men asked him to look out for police while they attacked a rival standing nearby on May 19, 2012.
Minutes later, he said he heard gunshots down the street and saw a silver car speed away. One of the two men later told Garbutt that he felt bad that Banks had been killed, but said he wasn’t turning himself in

19-year-old man shot dead in Gresham

A 19-year-old man was shot about 2:40 p.m. in the 7700 block of South Stewart Street in the Winneconna Parkway neighborhood.
Andre Hunter, of the 7900 block of South Princeton Avenue, was taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn and pronounced dead at 3:34 p.m.
Police said Hunter was found unresponsive on the sidewalk after being shot multiple times.

33-year-old man shot in Garfield Park

The latest shooting happened about 8:30 p.m. in the 2400 block of West Jackson Boulevard. A 33-year-old man was standing on the sidewalk when he heard gunfire and realized he was shot.
The man sustained graze wounds to the leg and buttocks and was listed in good condition at John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County.

39-year-old man in Archer Heights during robbery

A  39-year-old man was shot about 2 a.m. during an apparent robbery in the 4800 block of South Komensky Avenue. Police said the man was walking down the block when two assailants, one of them armed with a gun, approached and announced a robbery. The man cooperated but was shot in the shoulder, and his assailants fled with his wallet and cell phone.
The man was listed in good condition at Advocate Christ Medical Center of Oak Lawn.

Two shot in Washington Park

Two people were shot shortly before 7:30 p.m. on the 6100 block of South Eberhart Avenue.  
A 30-year-old woman suffered a wound to her leg and a 31-year-old man was shot in his stomach area

17-year-old boy shot in South Shore

About 2:15 p.m., a 17-year-old boy was shot on the 7300 block of South Shore Drive in the South Shore neighborhood.
The boy suffered a wound to his shoulder and was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital

" Yes Westvirginia there is a Kwanzaa Klaus"

Man Slanders

DEAR Man Slanders: I be 8 years old. My Latino friend Juan says there don't be no Kwanzaa Klaus.
Please tells me the truth; does there be a Kwanzaa Klaus?

WESTVIRGINIA JONES

7321 S. GREEN ST.

ENGLEWOOD IL.

 

Yes, Westvirginia, there is a Kwanzaa Klaus. He's also known in the black community as Father Kwanzaa because just like our real daddies, if he comes around once a year we lucky. Plus if the white folks can take a pagan sun worship day, the winter solstice and call it Jesus's birthday, then we can make stuff up too. And baby just think about it, what makes mo sense, a big fat white man coming down yo chimney or Kwanzza Klaus coming in yo window? Also child don't forget to bring yo friends on December 26 at 4p.m., we finna meet at the corner of 71st and Halsted and go Kwanzaa Karoling door to door."Over the crack pipes and thru the blows to my baby's daddy's house we finna goes". O child we bout to get our sing on.

 

Chicago Violence Scoreboard 12-19-13

 



74-year-old man shot dead in South Shore

A 74-year-old man was found dead inside a car around 4:45 a.m. today. He suffered several gunshot wounds and died at the scene in the 7000 block of South East End Avenue

41 year old man shot dead in South Shore

A man, 41, was found dead in a car in the 6700 block of South East End Avenue. The man had been shot several times.

27-year-old man shot dead in Humboldt Park

A 27-year-old man was killed in the Gage Park neighborhood around 2:55 a.m. The man was shot near 53rd Street and Talman Avenue after someone opened fire as he got out of a parked car.
The 27-year-old fled to an alley and collapsed. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead

Boy, 16, dies day after Little Village shooting

A 16-year-old boy shot in the Little Village neighborhood this week died late Wednesday.
Christopher Ramirez was shot in the 2600 block of South Trumbull Avenue, about two blocks north of his home, around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday
Ramirez was pronounced dead just before midnight Wednesday at Mount Sinai Hospital

Woman shot in Humboldt Park home invasion

A woman was shot in the abdomen during a home invasion in the Humboldt Park neighborhood on the West Side Wednesday afternoon.
The woman, 20, was inside her apartment in the 1000 block of North Springfield Avenue when someone knocked on the door and then kicked it in about 3 p.m.
The man was looking for someone else, police and shot her in the abdomen before leaving. 
She was taken to John H. Stroger Jr. Hospital of Cook County and was expected to survive.

Woman blinded in knife attack in Rogers Park

A woman was blinded in a savage attack in Rogers Park by a man who stabbed her in the eyes and face, then cut the tendons in both her wrists and a major artery in her leg.
Officers responding to a battery call found the man standing over the 21-year-old woman around 6:20 a.m. in the 1600 block of West Touhy Avenue
It was not clear how the two knew each other, but police said they had met to talk and the man became enraged and started stabbing her.
The woman was taken in serious condition to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston. Police said she was left blind by the attack and suffered major damage to an artery in her left thigh.
The man, 23, was arrested and also taken to St. Francis Hospital, where he was treated for minor cut wounds to his hands.  He lives in the 6900 block of West Nelson Avenue in the Montclare neighborhood on the Northwest Side

Sandy Hook Hoax Newtown Officer to be paid to keep him quiet

Boy, 17, dies after Chatham shooting

A  17-year-old boy died this afternoon after being shot Monday afternoon in the South Side's Chatham neighborhood.
Ladarius Brisco, of the 8200 block of South Vernon Avenue, was shot about 1 p.m. Monday in the 8200 block of South Champlain Avenue.
He was found with a gunshot wound to the head and taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in critical condition.
Brisco was declared dead at Stroger at 1:51 p.m. today

15-year-old shot in leg on South Side

A 15-year-old boy was shot a block from a Bronzeville high school this afternoon.
The boy was taken to Comer Children's Hospital with a gunshot wound to his right leg following the shooting about 2:48 p.m. in the 3800 block of South Calumet Avenue. His condition was stabilized at the hospital.
The boy was walking on the sidewalk when a man or boy came up and fired two shots at him, hitting him once, then fleeing.
No one was in custody.
The block where the boy was shot is a block east of Wendell Phillips Academy High School, 244 E. Pershing Road.

Girl, 15, beaten, assaulted

The 15-year-old girl left home for school early on Tuesday, sometime after 6 a.m., and headed for a bus stop down the block in the Belmont-Cragin neighborhood on the Northwest Side. She didn't get far.
Around 8 a.m., a neighbor went outside for a smoke and saw the girl sprawled on the ground in the back yard in the 2400 block of North Long Avenue. There was a pool of blood around her head and her pants were off. She didn't say anything but was moving slightly
The girl was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where police said she was in critical condition with severe head injuries. A police source said she was in a medically induced coma.
Detectives believe the girl was hit in the head while walking down the street to grab a bus at Long and Fullerton that would take her to a charter school about six miles away. She was then dragged into a backyard and assaulted. Police found her lying near the back door, bleeding from the back of her head and covered in blood.
She was still wearing a jacket but her pants were off, according to the police report. She was awake "but very lethargic, possibly suffering from hypothermia," the police report said. Blood was splattered across the yard and down the gangway along the house
The attack happened less than half a block from one of Chicago Public Schools' Safe Passage routes, patrolled areas that were set up for the current school year to help students who have longer walks in the wake of dozens of elementary school closings.
Chicago police spokesman Adam Collins said this morning the route near the assault was staffed beginning at 6:30 a.m., apparently after the attack happened.

16 year old boy shot in Little Village

A 16 year old boy was critically wounded on Trumbull Avenue just north of 27th Street around 10:30 p.m. Tuesday in the Little Village neighborhood.
The boy suffered a head wound and was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital in critical condition

Man shot in CTA station

Officers found a wounded man at about 2:20 a.m. at the CTA station at Lawrence Avenue, but police said he had been shot at the Argyle station about two blocks north. He was taken to Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center in good condition.
Police discovered a crime scene on a train after it stopped in the CTA yard south of 95th Street. Authorities found blood near the operator's station in the train.

Bail set at $750K for woman charged in fatal stabbing of boyfriend

A woman arrested last year for allegedly stabbing a woman at a Chuck E. Cheese is now facing murder charges in the death of her boyfriend during a fight over the weekend.
Shardonnae Pruitt, 20, of the 9600 block of South Merrion Avenue, was arrested Sunday evening after she stabbed Kahlin Holloway, 22, in the chest with a butcher knife.

Bail was set at $750,000 for Pruitt who was charged with first degree murder.
Holloway had kicked in the door of her home around 6 p.m. and was arguing with another person when Pruitt reached from behind and stabbed himm.
Holloway, of the 9600 block of South Euclid Avenue,  was pronounced dead at 6:35 p.m. Sunday at Advocate Trinity Hospital.
Pruitt had been working at a Chuck E. Cheese's at 5030 S. Kedzie Ave. in September of 2012 when she stabbed a customer after a fight.  The customer was with a 40-year-old man who became angry that Pruitt had taken away his salad plate. He threw his utensils on the floor and demanded to see the manager.
Pruitt returned with the manager, and the man asked to make a formal complaint against Pruitt. When the manager stepped away, Pruitt threatened the 40-year-old, pulled out the box cutter and stabbed the woman

Woman dies after falling into river along Mag Mile

Firefighters put a ladder down near that spot where a woman was reported in the water and a diver climbed into the water.
The diver found Alicia Garnett and pulled her to the edge of the river around 4:15 a.m. Firefighters waiting on the walkway helped pull her out and placed her into an ambulance, which took her to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where the 30-year-old woman was pronounced dead at 5:20 a.m. Garnett was from Dallas, Texas
Police were told that Garnett was in town with friends and apparently fell into the water while she was throwing snowballs

Accused taxi hijacker found asleep in cab

A Chicago man was accused of hijacking a taxi cab in Logan Square early Sunday morning after police officers found him asleep in the cab.
Danny Canchola, Jr., of the 5500 block of South Fransisco Avenue, was arrested at 6 a.m. near 900 South Plymouth Court after a cab driver identified him as the man who stole his taxi cab after climbing in without permission at a red light.
Canchola jumped into the cab while it was stopped at a red light near the intersection of Fullerton Avenue and Rockwell Avenue, even though the 34-year-old cab driver told him he was off-duty.
The driver started driving because the light had changed and other cars were honking at him, prosecutors said, when Canchola began to punch him in the back of the head. The driver then called 911 and exited the cab, which Canchola drove off in.
Police used the Blue Ribbon Cab company's GPS system to track the missing cab down to the South Loop, where  they found Canchola asleep in the vehicle

Man walks into Mount Sinai Hospital with gunshot wounds

A 23-year-old man walked into Mount Sinai Hospital with gunshot wounds and told police he had been shot on the West Side about 3 a.m. 
He told police he had been shot near Huron and Homan Avenues in the East Garfield Park neighborhood but it's not clear if that's where the shooting happened. 
Police said the man told police someone stepped out of a car and opened fire but was otherwise uncooperative.

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1 injured in South Side shooting

A South Side shooting has left a person critically injured this afternoon.
The shooting happened at about 1 p.m. on the 8200 block of South Champlain Avenue.
The male victim was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr., Hospital of Cook County in critical condition after being shot in the head

Man wounded in West Side shooting

A  34-year-old man was shot while sitting in a car on the West Side on Sunday night. 
The man was in the 300 block of North Hamlin Avenue in the East Garfield Park neighborhood when someone pulled alongside in another car and started shooting.
The gunman fled. 
The man was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital with wounds to his leg and side. He was reported stable.