CHICAGO — Prosecutors on Thursday charged a Chicago man with killing an Uber driver who failed to drop his daughters off at their desired location last summer. Exactly why the driver didn’t drop the teens off is unclear, but prosecutors said he “appeared dazed and barely communicated with” the girls after he picked them up.
Their father, Christopher Haynes, 34, is now charged with first-degree murder. Haynes, who was on bail for a pending forgery case, is the 59th person accused of killing or shooting—or trying to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago last year while having a felony case pending. At least 103 people were allegedly victimized in the crimes, and 27 died.
During Haynes’ bail hearing yesterday, prosecutor Anne McCord said the Uber driver picked up the two girls, ages 16 and 17, on the Near West Side around 9:30 p.m. on August 12 with an intended destination in the 3900 block of South Indiana.
When the 38-year-old driver failed to take them there, the girls called their mother, Haynes, and 911 to report that they were being kidnapped, McCord said.
The driver eventually stopped near the 95th Street Red Line and put his hands in the air. The girls got out and waited with family members for the police to arrive.
According to McCord, Haynes and other family members arrived shortly after, and Haynes spoke with the driver through the driver’s side window.
She claimed Haynes’ brother got into the Uber driver’s car and repeatedly hit the victim with a baton, causing the victim to drive away. As the victim’s minivan moved, Haynes’ brother fell out.
Video footage from various cameras allegedly shows Haynes and another man getting into the passenger seats of a car that chased after the Uber driver. As the car pulled up next to the minivan, shots were fired from both passenger-side windows, striking the driver and killing him, McCord said.
Police were on scene at the 95th Street Red Line station when the car returned, and Haynes discussed the alleged kidnapping with officers, McCord said.
Haynes’ defense attorney, Sean O’Brien, argued that there is no direct evidence that Haynes fired any shots, only that shots were fired from a car he was in. He said Haynes works for a construction firm.
But Judge Barbara Dawkins countered that the shooting happened after Haynes’ daughters were safe with family members. If the state’s allegations are true, the judge said, it appears the shooters were “acting in terms of vigilante justice.”
She held Haynes without bail on the murder charge and, separately, for violating bond in the pending forgery case.
Haynes’ criminal history, according to McCord, includes felony convictions in 2018 for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated DUI in 2015, and criminal sexual assault in 2007.
Earlier this month, another man was also charged with playing a role in the Uber driver’s death.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others 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 brought charges in less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of murders, according to the city’s data.
Previous installments of the “not horrible” series are available here.
