A judge on Tuesday sentenced a man to 35 years in prison for shooting two people, one fatally, during the 2020 Puerto Rican Day festivities in Bucktown.
Lazerice Drew, 27, pleaded guilty to murder and attempted murder in exchange for consecutive 25- and 10-year sentences from Judge John Lyke, according to court records. He must serve 100% of the murder sentence and 85% of the 10-year term.
Just before 7 p.m. on June 20, 2020, Brandon McGhee and some friends stopped at a convenience store near the Western Blue Line station. McGhee and a 16-year-old stepped out of the car when Drew, convicted murderer Carlos Coleman, and a third person crossed the street toward them, prosecutors alleged, yelling for them to give their gang affiliation. McGhee’s friends and family later explained that he was in the area for the festival and had no gang affiliation.
At an initial court hearing, prosecutors said Coleman, who was 39 at the time, tried to punch McGhee’s companion. The boy ducked, causing Coleman to fall, and the confrontation spiraled quickly. The boy and McGhee began running when they saw Drew moving a hand toward his waistband as if he had a gun, prosecutors said. Drew opened fire, striking McGhee in the neck and the 16-year-old in the arm as they ran away.
McGhee was killed. Police said neither he nor the 16-year-old had any previous contact with CPD.
The gunfire also put passersby in danger. One bullet flew through the windshield of a couple’s car as they drove on Western Avenue. The bullet narrowly missed the occupants, while the man driving was cut by flying glass.
After the shooting, prosecutors said, Coleman ran in one direction while Drew and the unknown third suspect went another way. Witnesses said the men appeared to have Puerto Rican flags wrapped around their bodies.
Surveillance cameras captured Drew changing his shirt before he ditched his gun in an alley behind the 1900 block of North Milwaukee Avenue. Police found the weapon about 20 minutes later.
Within two weeks, a judge issued an arrest warrant for Drew after investigators identified him by comparing tattoos visible on his social media accounts with images of the gunman. But he remained on the loose for a full year until police caught up with him after a traffic crash in July 2021.
Coleman pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in March 2024, court records show, but he has not yet been sentenced. His next court date is August 20. Prosecutors said he was previously convicted of murder in 1998, received a 40-year sentence, and was paroled in 2018.
