#59: Convicted felon shot and killed another man while on bond for being a felon in possession of a firearm, prosecutors say

Prosecutors on Wednesday said a convicted felon shot and killed a man who was riding in a car with the gunman’s ex-girlfriend in October. The accused man, Davion Fountain, 22, was on bond for a pending charge of being a felon in possession of a firearm at the time of the murder.

He is the 59th person accused of killing, trying to kill, or shooting someone in Chicago this year while awaiting trial for a felony. A total of 91 victims are involved in those crimes.

On November 1, 2020, prosecutors charged Fountain with multiple felony counts after police allegedly found a handgun on the driver’s side floorboard of a car he ran from during a traffic stop. Another man who ran from the car’s passenger seat is charged with felonies in connection with a second gun allegedly found on the passenger floorboard.

Fountain was on parole for possession of a stolen motor vehicle at the time. Court records show state authorities revoked his parole, and he went back to prison until this summer. He posted $2,000 to get out of jail on July 19.

Less than three months later, on October 13, Fountain’s ex-girlfriend, another person, and 20-year-old Laquan Jernigan drove to the 4800 block of West Crystal in Austin to buy drugs, Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy said.

When they arrived, Fountain emerged from a blue car parked across the street and approached their vehicle, Murphy said. Fountain began arguing with his ex, then returned to the blue car, which drove down the street and circled back, according to Murphy.

Surveillance video showed the blue car approaching the victim’s vehicle and Fountain, wearing a unique jacket, leaning out the back passenger window with a gun in his hand, Murphy said.

Fountain opened fire on the other car, killing Jernigan, according to Murphy. The driver of the victims’ car returned fire, but the video clearly shows that Fountain fired the first shots, according to Murphy.

Investigators found surveillance video from a gas station that allegedly showed Fountain wearing the same unique jacket as the gunman shortly before the murder.

Police arrested Fountain on Monday, and he participated in a video-recorded interview during which he gave conflicting and evolving accounts of what happened at the shooting scene, Murphy said.

Assistant Public Defender Richard Paull said Fountain works as a package handler and is a “mentor in the music industry.”

Judge David Navarro, the same judge who set Fountain’s bail in the pending gun case last year, ordered Fountain held without bail for violating the terms of bond in the ongoing case. Navarro also ordered him held without bail on the murder charge.

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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