A 45-year-old Chicago man has been ordered detained on a murder charge after prosecutors said he shot and killed a man during an early morning confrontation in Old Town on Independence Day 2021.
Around 6 a.m., 38-year-old Dimontie Wallace and the mother of his child got into an argument inside a vehicle, officials said. Wallace got out of the car and started walking down the street.
As the woman pulled up to a red light a short distance away, she saw Wallace exchanging words with another man in the middle of the 200 block of West Division. The argument turned into a physical fight, and Wallace, who was unarmed, punched the other man, who then punched back, Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak said in a detention filing. The man allegedly stepped back, pulled out a handgun, and shot Wallace in the chest.
The woman rushed to Wallace’s side as the shooter slowly walked away. At one point, he turned back toward her before continuing down the street, according to Hanichak. She later identified the gunman in a photo lineup as 45-year-old Jason Cribbs.
Wallace was taken to Northwestern Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Prosecutors said surveillance cameras in the area confirmed that Wallace had nothing in his hands during the confrontation and captured Cribbs inside a nearby store and walking toward the scene.
Hanichak said there was no known relationship between Cribbs and Wallace. After his arrest, Cribbs told police he acted in self-defense, but prosecutors said his account was contradicted by surveillance footage.
Cribbs has three prior felony convictions: drug cases in 2004 and 2006, and a weapons charge in 2010.
Officials did not say why it took more than four years to bring charges in the case.
Judge John Hock detained Cribbs pending trial.
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