CHICAGO — A 19-year-old Chicago man charged with killing an 18-year-old man and injuring another in a South Loop shooting last month was convicted last year of killing a woman by striking her with a stolen car, prosecutors said.
Jordan Parks received probation and was put on electronic monitoring in November as part of his sentence.
On Thursday, prosecutors accused Parks, 16-year-old Antoine Blakes, and an unnamed 15-year-old boy of murdering Cameron Rayford, 18, and injuring another 18-year-old during a shooting in the 1900 block of South State on April 27.
Blakes was driving a stolen Kia with the juvenile and Parks seated on the passenger side when they encountered a Jeep driven by Rayford around 3:30 p.m., Assistant State’s Attorney Kiana Arakawa said Thursday.
Blakes struck the Jeep, then pulled alongside the Jeep as Parks and the juvenile opened fire from the Kia’s passenger windows, said Arakawa. The Jeep’s three passengers, including one shot in the hand, jumped out of the vehicle and ran.
But Rayford was fatally shot. He remained in the driver’s seat as the Jeep rolled through an intersection and then came to a stop.
Blakes, Parks, and the juvenile abandoned the stolen Kia near Cermak and State, then took a Green Line train to 35th Street and walked to an apartment complex where they live, Arakawa said.
Chicago police officers recognized Blakes and the juvenile in surveillance footage, including some from the CTA.
Investigators keyed in on Parks the day after the shooting, when he got shot, and cops realized he was wearing the same shirt that one of the suspects wore in the apartment building, Arakawa explained.
Officers executed search warrants at the trio’s homes on Tuesday.
In Blake’s home, they allegedly found a 9-millimeter handgun with an auto-fire switch. Ballistics tests showed that the weapon ejected some of the shell casings found at the shooting scene, Arakawa said.
Officers found another gun in Parks’ home, according to Arakawa. Tests revealed that it ejected shell casings found inside the stolen Kia and at the shooting scene.
Arakawa told Judge Charles Beach that Parks was adjudicated delinquent for unlawful use of a weapon in 2019.
The following summer, driving a stolen SUV, Parks jumped a curb and struck a 43-year-old woman walking down a sidewalk in the 2900 block of South Wells. Parks ran from the stolen car, but he still had the screwdriver he used to operate the vehicle when police arrested him, Arakawa said.
The collision left the woman paralyzed, and she resided at an inpatient facility until she succumbed to her injuries in February 2022.
Parks pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and received a three-year probation sentence. A judge put him on electronic monitoring as part of the sentence in November. If he is convicted of any crime while on probation, it could trigger a four-year prison term, Arakawa explained.
He is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, possession of a stolen firearm, and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Blakes has had “multiple” juvenile cases referred to the court system, but Arakwa said none resulted in adjudications.
He is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, possession of a machine gun, and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
Representing Blakes and Parks, Assistant Public Defender Dylan Barrett said they are both high school students. Parks is scheduled to graduate in June.
Judge Charles Beach ordered Parks and Blakes held without bail.
The 15-year-old boy’s case is being handled in the juvenile system, and his name has not been released. He is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated battery by discharging a firearm, aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a person under 21, and three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
