Days after Cook County prosecutors refused to file any charges against five people who participated in a fatal shootout captured on video and witnessed by police, Juan Nandi was nearly killed by a bullet that ripped through his neck in North Center early Wednesday.
So, of course, prosecutors charge him with a felony.
The gunman is on the loose while Nandi, who has no criminal background and didn’t fire a shot, sits in the county jail.
Police responded to calls of shots fired near Lincoln Avenue and Montrose Avenue around 1:50 a.m. Wednesday. When they arrived, they saw Nandi walking and asked him if he saw the shooting, Assistant State’s Attorney Darryl Auguste said Thursday.
Nandi, 21, pointed south on Lincoln toward a crashed car that he said had bullet holes in it, according to Auguste.
That’s when the officers realized Nandi had blood on him and appeared to be bleeding. As the cops moved closer, Nandi ran. The police followed and allegedly saw him throw an object over a fence.
When they caught him, they asked why he ran.
“I don’t want to go to jail,” Nandi replied, according to Auguste.
Then he told the officers that someone in a white SUV shot him while he was driving. The bullet ripped through his neck and lodged at the base of his skull, according to officers who were at the scene. He lost control of his car after being shot and plowed into the door of a pizza restaurant before walking away, according to police.
Cops returned to the fence where they saw Nandi toss something. They found a loaded handgun in the adjacent yard, Auguste said. And he was allegedly in possession of 5/100ths of an ounce of suspected crack.
Prosecutors charged him with unlawful use of a weapon and possession of a controlled substance.
Nandi’s public defender said he lives with his parents, works as a mover, and has no criminal history.
Judge Mary Marubio set bail at $5,000. If Nandi posts a 10% deposit to get out of jail, he’ll have to stay in the house from 7 p.m. to 7 a.m., she said. Nandi was still in jail as of Friday morning.
Meanwhile, whoever shot Nandi remains on the loose. Based on how things have been going in Chicago lately, they probably don’t have much to worry about — even if police do arrest them.
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