CHICAGO — An Iowa man surrendered to Chicago police to face charges in the shooting that left one woman dead and another injured in a River North hotel last month. Demetris Shorter, 35, of Davenport, was ordered detained by Judge Ankur Srivastava during a weekend hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.
Prosecutors said Shorter and the woman who died, 32-year-old Kenliada Porter, checked into the hotel in the 300 block of West Grand on February 21. Around 8 p.m. the next evening, another guest reported hearing gunfire on the 30th floor where the couple was staying.
Shorter left the hotel through a side door, only to return a few minutes later to get another key from the front desk, officials said. Minutes later, Shorter soon returned to the lobby and allegedly shot a 28-year-old female security guard in the neck after they bumped into each other. Witnesses reported the gunman fled in an SUV.
Investigators initially responded to calls about the second woman being shot, but they later discovered Porter during a search of the hotel room. Officers administered CPR and applied a chest seal, hoping to save her, but she died that night at Northwestern Memorial Hospital.
Prosecutors said detectives located Shorter’s rental car on the day after the shooting. His wallet and a handgun were in the car along with shell casings that match casings police found in the River North hotel room, according to the allegations.
Online news reports indicate that Shorter was charged with robbing a pizza delivery driver at gunpoint in Iowa in 2010.
