CHICAGO — Three days before Christmas, Marcus Robinson was walking along the 7100 block of South Woodlawn when a stolen Hyundai pulled up next to him and five men got out with guns.
All five men, using eight guns, fired more than 39 rounds at Robinson, killing him, officials said. He was 24.
On Thursday, prosecutors filed murder charges against one of the men they believe was among the gunmen, Fred Taylor, 24.
Taylor was on electronic monitoring for a pending stolen motor vehicle and aggravated fleeing case at the time of the shooting. He 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 104 people were allegedly victimized in the crimes, and 28 died.
Five men, eight guns
The murderers’ Hyundai was stolen two days before the shooting with the owner’s phone inside, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord said during Taylor’s bond hearing Thursday.
After the car was stolen, fraudulent transactions transferred money from the victim’s bank to multiple CashApp accounts, including one linked to Taylor’s phone number, she said.
Late on December 22, five men stepped out of the stolen car, each firing at least one gun, to kill Robinson. He returned fire, then fell to the ground. McCord said that one of the gunmen walked over to him and fired more shots before the group escaped in the stolen Hyundai.
Detectives tracked the Hyundai on CPD’s surveillance camera and license plate reader networks. McCord said Taylor’s phone and his electronic monitoring bracelet’s GPS device pinged along the route the Hyundai traveled before, during, and after the murder.
Taylor’s defense attorney slammed the electronic monitoring data.
“The technology that is being utilized by [Cook County Sheriff] Tom Dart’s office is completely, unbelievably unreliable,” the lawyer argued.
But Judge Barbara Dawkins noted that Taylor’s phone tracked along the same route his GPS bracelet followed. She held Taylor without bail.
Pending case
Taylor was on electronic monitoring in December while awaiting trial on a case he picked up last September.
In that case, Chicago cops spotted a stolen car on the South Side and tried to pull it over. The driver, Taylor, sped away and ran at least six red lights before he crashed into an Illinois State Police squad car, prosecutors said.
Judge Maryam Ahmad ordered him to pay a $10,000 bail deposit and go on electronic monitoring the next day.
McCord said he pleaded guilty to the aggravated fleeing count in April and received an 18-month sentence.
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 “not horrible” stories are available here.