CHICAGO — In March last year, Chicago cops arrested Tony Pearson in connection with a murder that was allegedly caught on video. Prosecutors, though, decided not to charge him with the murder. But they did charge him with having a machine gun when the cops took him into custody.
While still on electronic monitoring for that, prosecutors now say, Pearson fired shots at an occupied car at a Fuller Park gas station—the same gas station where prosecutors claimed he shot at another man in the previous case.
Pearson, 19, thus becomes the very first person added to our list of people accused of shooting, killing, or trying to shoot or kill someone in Chicago while on pretrial release when the pending case also put them on our list.
Here’s how that happened:
In March 2023, prosecutors charged Pearson with unlawful use of a machine gun after he allegedly placed the weapon on a barbecue grill while running from Chicago cops. A CPD surveillance camera recorded video of him hiding the gun, officials said.
The police were chasing him because he was wanted for questioning in connection with the October 29, 2022, murder of a man named Anthony Sims.
According to Prosecutor Lorraine Scaduto, Pearson had turned 18 just one week before the shooting at the corner of Pershing and Princeton. She said someone seated in a blue Elantra fired shots toward a group of people at the Wentworth Gardens housing complex. According to Scaduto, people on the sidewalk returned fire toward the car, and Pearson, who had been inside a nearby gas station, stepped outside, pulled a gun, and fired multiple rounds at the Elantra.
The car’s rear window shattered, and Sims, sitting in the back seat, died from a gunshot wound to the back of his head.
Scaduto said Pearson was identified on video and through witness statements as the person who fired the shots from the gas station. However, he was never charged with shooting Sims, only with possessing the machine gun he allegedly ditched while running from police.
After hearing from Scaduto last year, Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Pearson to pay a $50,000 bail deposit to get out of jail. Less than a month later, though, Judge Lindsay Huge let Pearson go home on electronic monitoring with no money down, court records show.
Now, incredibly, Pearson is accused of shooting at an occupied car at the same gas station involved in the 2022 case while wearing an ankle monitor.
Prosecutors say video showed him leaving the gas station around 9:25 a.m. on May 8, putting on a ski mask near the pumps, and pulling out a firearm. Pearson aimed the gun and fired toward an occupied car, striking the vehicle but causing no injuries, according to the allegations.
GPS data from Pearson’s ankle monitor showed he was at the gas station at the time of the gunfire and also confirmed his direction of flight after the shooting, prosecutors alleged in court filings.
He is now charged with aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Judge Mary Marubio detained Pearson as a safety risk on a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm. She also detained him for violating pretrial release in the pending machine gun case.
He is the 27th person accused of killing or shooting—or trying to kill or shoot—someone in Chicago this year while having a felony case pending. The cases involve 42 victims, 9 of whom died.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting, or trying to kill or shoot others on pretrial release for a felony allegation. 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.
On September 18, 2023, Illinois eliminated cash bail entirely. Our “not horrible” continues.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people awaiting trial for felony allegations 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.
