Prosecutors on Sunday said a fellow gang member murdered Chicago rapper Tray Savage on a South Side street last June. Demitri Jackson, 20, is now the 37th person to be charged with killing or shooting someone in Chicago last year while on felony bail, according to CWBChicago research. A total of 42 victims are involved in the allegations.
Assistant State’s Attorney John Chambers told Judge David Navarro that Jackson and Savage, whose real name was Kentray Young, knew each other from being in the same street gang.
Surveillance video showed Jackson driving up to a car Young was sitting in on the 8100 block of South Evans on the morning of June 19, 2020, Chambers said. The two had a brief exchange and then drove off in different directions, the prosecutor said.
About 15 minutes later, Jackson allegedly returned to the same spot in his white Mazda and parked. Young returned to the block shortly after that and the two had another exchange, Chambers said.
Video allegedly shows Jackson moving the Mazda to block the road in front of Young and then stepping back out of the car with a gun and opening fire on Young. The 26-year-old rapper died from a gunshot wound to his neck, Chambers said. Police allegedly found the white Mazda burning in an alley the next day.
Investigators recognized Jackson on surveillance videos of the killing because they’ve had previous contact with him and because he walks with a distinct limp caused by a gunshot wound he suffered in September 2018, Chambers said. In one video, Jackson’s face was allegedly exposed to the camera as he changed his face mask.
Jackson moved to Ft. Worth with his girlfriend after his grandmother died late last year, his defense attorney said. Texas authorities arrested him on a warrant and he was extradited back to Chicago last week, according to Chambers.
At the time of Young’s murder, Jackson was on bond for a pending felony narcotics case, Chambers said. He reportedly pleaded guilty to a lesser charge in November and received probation.
After hearing the state’s first-degree murder allegations on Sunday, Judge Navarro ordered Jackson held without bail.