Prosecutors charge man with murdering woman in expressway shooting

A Chicago man who intended to kill a gang rival during a shooting on the Eisenhower Expressway last summer instead killed a woman who was in his intended target’s car, prosecutors said Wednesday.

The accused man, 26-year-old Xavier Richardson, was on bail for felony possession of a stolen motor vehicle at the time of the murder. He is now the 42nd person accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill someone last year while on felony bail.

Richardson, 27-year-old Deshawn Seargent, and a man who has not yet been identified rolled up next to the victims’ car on the highway near Central Avenue and opened fire around 4:13 a.m. on August 15, 2020, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said. Seargent was charged with murder in the case earlier this year.

A passenger in the targeted car, 19-year-old Lakasia Gregory, died from two gunshot wounds to her head. The intended target was shot in the arm and survived.

Murphy said Seargent and Richardson were engaged in a conflict with rival gang members that involved numerous shootings. One month before the expressway shooting, a fellow gang member called Richardson from jail, and Richardson said he intended to kill a certain rival the next time he saw him, Murphy said. Jail authorities recorded their phone conversation.

On the night of the murder, Richardson and the unidentified accomplice allegedly staked out the rival’s home and watched as he got into a car with three other people. They then followed the car in a vehicle driven by Seargent, Murphy said.

Richardson and the uncharged man opened fire on the car that was carrying the intended target on the expressway, according to Murphy. ShotSpotter gunfire detectors registered 14 gunshots from two different weapons, and police found 16 shell casings from two guns on the highway, Murphy said.

Investigators used a series of surveillance cameras to identify the assailants’ car and eventually traced it back to Seargent, who allegedly borrowed it for the evening. Phones owned by Seargent and Richardson pinged together before, during, and after the shooting and tracked along the route taken by the shooters, Murphy said. Two Maywood police officers recognized Richardson in video footage.

Richardson is on probation for aggravated fleeing and eluding. He has prior felony convictions for aggravated robbery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. The stolen motor vehicle case that he was on bond for at the time of the murder was eventually dropped, but Murphy said he picked up a new charge of Class X armed habitual criminal, which is still pending.

His defense attorney said he has three children who live with him, and he played college football for North Dakota.

He is charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. Judge Arthur Willis ordered him held without bail.

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.

Prosecutors charge man with murdering woman in expressway shooting — while on felony bond

Previous 2020 cases