A 16-year-old on Monday became the first person to be charged with shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for another serious felony. In 2020, at least 37 people were shot or killed in the city by people out of jail awaiting trial for serious felony charges, CWB reported last week.
Prosecutors yesterday charged the teen, Alonzo Isaac, as an adult for allegedly shooting a man he lured into a robbery by offering a cellphone for sale online.
The victim, age 49, went to an apartment building in the 3500 block of South Cottage Grove to buy the phone from Isaac via the OfferUp app, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni said.
Isaac and the victim allegedly met in a hallway while two other juveniles stood in a nearby stairwell. When the victim asked to see the phone, Isaac pulled out a handgun and ordered him to “give it all” to him, DeBoni said.
The man threw $500 to $600 cash on the floor and then grabbed Isaac’s gun, pulling them both to the floor, and the weapon fired, according to DeBoni. Then, another shot rang out, and the victim took the gun from Isaac, who ran out of the building, DeBoni continued. Surveillance video recorded Isaac, the victim, and the two other juveniles entering and leaving the apartment building but did not capture footage of the robbery, he said.
The victim realized he had been shot in the stomach and called 911 for help. He gave the handgun, which had a defaced serial number, to police officers who arrived at the scene.
A few minutes later, police received another call of a person shot nearby. Officers went to the scene and found Isaac limping with a gunshot wound to his left thigh, DeBoni said. Isaac’s mother dropped a garbage bag that contained bloody clothes and distinctive shoes that match the clothes and shoes that were worn by the person who robbed and shot the victim, according to DeBoni.
The victim has been released from a hospital where he was treated for a single gunshot wound that missed all major organs as it passed through his abdomen, DeBoni said. The man allegedly identified Isaac as the offender.
Isaac, a high school sophomore, is on juvenile probation for unlawful use of a weapon and has an active juvenile case for possession of a stolen motor vehicle, according to DeBoni.
On Monday, prosecutors charged Isaac with armed robbery with a firearm and aggravated battery by discharge of a firearm.
“Sir, and I am going to call you sir…because you have moved into the realm of adulthood, not by age, but by actions,” Judge Charles Beach said after hearing the state’s allegations. “Unfortunately for you.”
Judge Beach then set bail at $250,000 and ordered Isaac to go onto electronic monitoring if he can post a 10% deposit bond.