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.
#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
- At least 32 people charged with murder in Chicago last year were free on bail at the time of the killings (January 5, 2021)
- #33: We find another man accused of committing murder while on affordable bail in 2020 (January 9, 2021)
- Another man, free on bail for two felonies, charged with killing retired fireman in botched carjacking (January 22, 2021)
- #36: Man killed rival gang member while on bail for felony gun charge, prosecutors say (April 5, 2021)
- #37: Fellow gang member killed rapper Tray Savage while on bond for felony drug case, prosecutors say (April 26, 2021)
- #38: Man killed 20-year-old in Albany Park drive-by, prosecutors say (April 28, 2021)
- #39: No bail for man charged with shooting off-duty CPD officer in Brighton Park robbery attempt (Sun-Times)
- #40: Five-time felon, on electronic monitoring for gun case, killed man during Christmastime home invasion, prosecutors say (June 16, 2021)
- #41: AWOL on felony case for over a year, man’s accused of murdering one, shooting two others (June 30, 2021)
- #42: Man’s charged with two separate shootings while AWOL on burglary charge (September 8, 2021)
- #43: Prosecutors charge man with murdering woman in expressway shooting — while on felony bond (September 22, 2021)
- #44: Feds say man killed 1, wounded 2 outside Oak Street boutique — while on bail for felony gun case and on parole (October 14, 2021)
- #45: Man fatally shot his own passenger while trying to shoot another driver, prosecutors say. And he was on felony bond when it happened. (December 31, 2021)
- #46: Man is charged with killing a murder case witness while on felony bail (February 5, 2022)
- #47: Man stabbed drinking buddy to death while on bail for firing a gun during an argument, prosecutors say (February 5, 2020)
- #48 of 2020: Hijackers killed a man. Their alleged getaway driver was awaiting trial for a felony. (March 17, 2022)
