#52: Man who shot driver in South Loop on Saturday was AWOL from a pending felony case, prosecutors say

An eight-time convicted felon opened fire on a busy South Loop street corner Saturday evening, striking a man who was waiting for a traffic light to change near the Roosevelt CTA station, prosecutors said. The accused man, 36-year-old Christople Davis, was AWOL on a pending felony case at the time of the shooting.

Davis is the 52nd person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 73 victims are involved in those crimes.

Police officers who responded to the area of Wabash and Roosevelt around 9:48 p.m. saw Davis crouching behind a concrete structure with another person who was pointing at Davis, prosecutors said during a bond hearing Tuesday afternoon.

Davis tried to get away when officers approached him, but cops managed to detain him nearby and subsequently found a loaded handgun in his jacket pocket, according to the allegations. Prosecutors said he spit in the face of one arresting officer.

A 36-year-old driver waiting for the red light to change at Roosevelt and Wabash suffered a graze wound to his back. He drove himself to Stroger Hospital for treatment.

CPD surveillance cameras and CTA security footage both show Davis firing the gun in the victim’s direction, prosecutors said.

Davis is charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. Prosecutors said they expect to upgrade the gun charge to Class X armed habitual criminal based on Davis’ extensive background.

Court records show Davis failed to appear in court on September 27 for a case in which he is facing nine felony counts of aggravated battery of police officers. According to the records, he has violated bond in the case twice before. He has eight felony convictions and 13 misdemeanor convictions on his record, according to prosecutors.

Assistant Public Defender Susan Farber said Davis works full time as a Divvy bike repair technician. He has seven children.

Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered Davis held without bail on the new charges and said he would also be held without bail in the already-pending matter until the judge who’s handling that case has a chance to review bail conditions.

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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