#49 #50 and #51: Our list of people accused of shooting (or shooting at) others while on felony bail in 2020 is growing longer today

Our list of people accused of shooting (or shooting at) others while on felony bail in 2020 is growing by three today. We found the cases and a fourth that we’re saving for now while researching a story that you will be reading about soon on CWB Chicago. Here are the details of the cases that are being added to the list.

A Chicago police detective walks past a shooting scene in Lincoln Park on October 8, 2020. | CWB Chicago

#49: “Don’t talk to my bitch”

Theophilus Sexton was confined to his home on electronic monitoring for a pending criminal sexual assault case on March 28, 2020. That case involved allegations that he had sex with a highly intoxicated woman who could not give consent, according to court records.

Around 10 a.m., a 27-year-old man walked his dog near Sexton’s home and shouted at the dog as Sexton’s girlfriend happened to pass by.

In believing that the man was yelling at his girlfriend, Sexton became incensed.

“Don’t talk to my bitch!” Sexton allegedly yelled from the window.

Wearing his electronic monitoring band, Sexton went outside and fought the other man, then took out a gun.

“You’re going to die today,” he allegedly told the man before firing several shots, striking the victim once in the left shoulder.

Cops who responded to a ShotSpotter gunfire detection alert arrested Sexton.

He is currently serving eight years for the shooting plus four years for the sexual assault, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records. His parole date is set for February 2028.

#50: A gun in a crowd

Police responded to a person with a gun call in the South Shore neighborhood on May 4, 2020. They said they saw Otis Wise fire multiple times in a crowd gathered in the alley.

Officers said they found a bullet hole in a nearby car hood and shell casings at the scene. They arrested Wise and found a gun along his flight path, officers said in an arrest report.

Prosecutors charged him with aggravated discharge of a firearm into an occupied vehicle and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. He eventually pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon with a previous conviction and received a three-year sentence, according to court records.

The felony case that he was on bond for at the time of the incident was later dropped by prosecutors.

#51: Two pending gun cases

We’ve mentioned Jesse Davis’ case before but failed to include him in our tally.

Jesse Davis, then 27, managed to get arrested for illegal gun possession in March 2020 and then arrested for another gun one month later. He was released on affordable bail both times. In May 2020, prosecutors charged him with getting another gun and shooting at a man in Humboldt Park.

On March 22, cops who watched a CPD surveillance camera “clearly” saw Davis point a handgun at a car and then get into a vehicle with the weapon, police said. According to court records, they pulled the car over, found a gun in his left pants leg, and 12 foil pouches of heroin in his pocket.+

They charged him with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and manufacture-delivery of heroin. Judge Charles Beach allowed Davis to go home by posting a $100 deposit bond.

A month later, on April 26, police said they found a gun under the front passenger seat of a car where Davis was sitting during a traffic stop. Davis was carrying $2,587 cash, police said, and the gun had been reported stolen in Texas.

Judge Susana Ortiz allowed Davis to go home on electronic monitoring by posting a $200 deposit bond.

Less than three weeks after that, on May 14, prosecutors said Davis fired a gun into a Humboldt Park residence while shooting at a man. A Cook County grand jury charged him with two counts of aggravated discharge of a firearm, four counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago took the shooting case and the March gun possession case to federal court. Davis is facing gun charges there.

The “not horrible” series

This report continues our coverage of individuals who have been charged with murder, attempted murder, and shooting firearms 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 less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data. You can support CWBChicago’s work by becoming a subscriber today.

Previous 2020 cases

About CWBChicago 6004 Articles
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 news@cwbchicago.com