#45 — Man beat, shot at his pregnant girlfriend while free on felony case, prosecutors say

September 26, 2021 8:18 PM CWBChicago Citywide

An 18-year-old man with a felony case pending in juvenile court attacked his pregnant girlfriend and then fired eight shots as she escaped in a car Thursday, prosecutors said. He is the 45th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony.

CWBChicago is not naming the man because doing so could also identify the victim.

The man’s girlfriend, also 18, went to his home to pick up some items because they were breaking up, prosecutors said. When he saw her speaking with his sister inside the apartment, the man allegedly grabbed the victim tightly by her throat and slammed her against a wall.

Prosecutors said he then punched the woman repeatedly in her stomach and said he would kill the unborn child.

Meanwhile, the man’s sister called some of the victim’s family members to tell them what was happening. One of them saw her on the street and escorted her back to the apartment to get her things.

They were confronted by the man who was adjusting a firearm in his waistband, prosecutors said. The victim retreated to a family friend’s car, and the man allegedly tried to stop them from leaving by stepping in front of the vehicle with a gun in his hand.

With the victim screaming, the car’s owner maneuvered around the man as he fired shots toward the car until the weapon jammed, prosecutors said. He allegedly cleared the jam and continued firing at the vehicle as it traveled down the street. Investigators found eight shell casings at the scene.

No injuries were reported, but one bullet did fly into a second-floor apartment where a woman was home with three young children, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors charged the man with aggravated discharge of a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, aggravated domestic battery, and aggravated battery of police officers. They said he has a felony conviction in DeKalb County for possession of a stolen motor vehicle and the pending juvenile felony in Chicago. No details of the juvenile case were given during Saturday’s bond hearing.

Judge Susana Ortiz set bail at $500,000. She said the man must go onto electronic monitoring and a GPS tracker if he gets out of jail.

Editor’s note: This report continues our coverage of individuals who have been charged with murder, attempted murder, or trying to kill a person while on bond for a pending felony case. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated, “we haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” under the court’s bond reform initiative.

The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people on felony bail is undoubtedly much higher than the numbers seen here. Since 2017, CPD has made arrests in just 4% of shootings and 31% of murders, according to the city’s data.  You can support CWBChicago’s work by becoming a subscriber today.

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CWBChicago was created in 2013 by five residents of Wrigleyville and Boystown who had grown disheartened with inaccurate information that was being provided at local Community Policing (CAPS) meetings. Our coverage area has expanded since then to cover Lincoln Park, River North, The Loop, Uptown, and other North Side Areas. But our mission remains unchanged: To provide original public safety reporting with better context and greater detail than mainstream media outlets. Our editorial email address is [email protected]
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