CHICAGO — Prosecutors accused a Chicago woman on Thursday of trying to shoot and kill another woman while on bail for a pending attempted murder case that involves nearly identical allegations. Tajada Johnson, 40, is the third person with a pending felony case to be accused of killing or trying to kill someone in Chicago this year.
Johnson pulled onto a service station lot in the 4700 block of West Harrison around 4 p.m. on March 1 and recognized a woman sitting in another car, Assistant State’s Attorney Sarah Dale-Schmidt said during Johnson’s bail hearing yesterday.
Dale-Schmidt said Johnson got out of her car, argued with the woman, then returned to her driver’s seat and opened fire on the other woman. Johnson got out of her car and shot at the woman again.
The victim, who was not injured, drove away and called 911 about the shooting, which was recorded by the gas station’s surveillance system. Dale-Schmidt said the footage clearly shows two bullet holes forming in the side of the victim’s car as Johnson fired on the vehicle.
Johnson was on bail at the time for a pending attempted murder case.
In that matter, she’s accused of arguing with a female acquaintance and firing three or four shots at the victim, who was sitting inside a car in the 600 block of North Pine Avenue around 4 p.m. on June 25, 2021. Johnson, who has five previous felony convictions, paid a $20,000 bail deposit to get out of jail six days later, according to Dale-Schmidt.
At the end of Thursday’s hearing, Judge Susana Ortiz held Johnson without bail at the state’s request.
Johnson’s defense attorney told Ortiz that Johnson’s 16-year-old son was shot and killed on March 31.
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.
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