Holiday Weekend Violence:

Jesus Escobedo, a South Side pedestrian, was fatally struck by a minivan Saturday night in Cicero.

Escobedo, 50, of South Artesian Ave., was struck by a vehicle at 3700 Laramie Ave. and was pronounced dead at MacNeal Hospital at 10:18 p.m. Saturday, the Cook County Medical Examiner said.

A Dodge Caravan traveling south on Laramie Avenue struck Escobedo at 6:42 p.m., according to Cicero spokesman Dan Proft. The driver of the minivan stopped.

A Sunday autopsy determined Escobedo died of multiple injuries from an automobile striking a pedestrian and the death is ruled an accident, the medical examiner said.

Cicero police are investigating.

•TWO SUSPECTS ARE IN CUSTODY for a shooting that injured two others in Highland.

Highland police Cmdr. George Georgeff said two men were shot about 11:30 p.m. in the 2800 block of Highway Avenue. Their injuries are not believed to be life-threatening.

The assailants apparently knew their victims, Georgeff said.

Georgeff said police were called to a location near the Fagen-Miller Funeral Home parking lot, where officers found one of the men. That man was taken to Community Hospital in .

The first victim, a 31-year-old from the Indianapolis area, would not cooperate with police, Georgeff said. The second man later showed up at a hospital in Michigan City with a gunshot wound. He was taken to a South Bend trauma center. He also would not cooperate with a detective sent to speak with him.

Police spoke with the two men taken in custody on Saturday.  Georgeff said charges may be filed Monday.

•FAMOUS WARE, A SOUTH SIDE MAN, was fatally shot Saturday evening in the South Shore neighborhood.

Ware, 40, of South Drexel Ave., was shot at 2104 E. 68th St. and was pronounced dead at Northwestern Memorial Hospital at 6:04 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner said. A Sunday autopsy determined Ware died of multiple gunshot wounds and the death is ruled a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner said.

Police found Ware shot to death inside a vehicle about 5:15 p.m., police said. Calumet Area detectives are conducting a homicide investigation, but they have no suspects.

•A 15-YEAR-OLD PARK RIDGE GIRL was shot and critically wounded while leaving a Lawndale party early Saturday on the West Side.

About 2 a.m., the girl and her girlfriends were leaving a house party at 1113 S. Albany Ave. when they saw an altercation outside, police said.

The girls hid in a gangway and a man brandishing a blue, steel semi-automatic handgun approached the girl, show3ed them the gun and asked, “What now bitches?” The man then fired one shot that struck the girl -- from north suburban Park Ridge -- in the abdomen, police said.

Nobody else was wounded.

Fire Media Affairs Chief Joe Roccasalva said the girl is in Mount Sinai Hospital in "critical" condition.

The shooter is described as a 6-foot, 200-pound black man between 18 and 20 years old. Police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor said it was unknown if the 15-year-old victim was the intended target.Harrison Area detectives are investigating, but no suspects have been identified.

•THE FORD HEIGHTS TEEN charged with first-degree murder Saturday in the fatal shooting of a Chicago Heights man Monday in the south suburb. Sheriff's police are calling the shooting a case of "completely mistaken identity."

 DeLondre Townsend, 18,  of 1300 Deforest Ave. in Ford Heights, was taken into custody by Cook County Sheriff’s police  for the murder of Brandon Riley, sheriff’s office spokesman Steve Patterson said.

Riley, 23, of of Standish St. in Chicago Heights, was shot on Dec. 29 near 11th Street and Lexington Avenue, according to a spokesman for the Cook County Medical Examiner’s office.

He took a bullet to the back of his head and pronounced dead at Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, the Cook County medical examiner said.

“Sadly, this was a case of mistaken identity,” Patterson said. “[Riley] had no prior relationship with Townsend.”

Riley was with three friends driving eastbound on 11th when the shooting occurred, Patterson said.

When Townsend saw Rileys vehicle, a maroon-colored conversion van, he thought he recognized it as belonging to someone he “had problems with” earlier in the day, Patterson said. He fired shots into the vehicle, killing Riley.

Three other people in the car, including the cousin Riley had gone to pick up in the area, were unhurt.

Townsend confessed shooting at the van to sheriff’s police detectives, and multiple witnesses on the scene confirmed seeing him fire shots at the van Patterson said. The van, and those inside it, had nothing to do with Townsend’s prior “problems.”

People from the neighborhood told police Townsend was involved in criminal activity in the area, unlike Riley—who had virtually no criminal record, Patterson said.

"He wasn't a troublemaker," said his mother, Willie Mae Riley. "My heart is so empty right now," she said.

Ford Heights has had no police department of their own since April of 2008, when the county took over policing the community. Patterson said the relationships sheriff’s police fostered within the community was “key” in the arrest and subsequent charging of Townsend.

Townsend was being held on the murder charge Saturday, and is slated to appear in bond court Sunday in Markham.

•A VERBAL ALTERCATION on outside a party on the Northwest Side turned violent early Saturday, when gunfire wounded two men and a 16-year-old girl.
 
The shooting happened about 1:15 a.m. in the 3100 block of North Monticello Avenue, police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said.

Two men, ages 26 and 17, were attending a party  and had stepped outside when an unknown male suspect approached them, Kubiak said. The argument ensued, and the unknown man then fired shots.

The two men were hit, along with a 16-year-old girl inside the party who was struck by a bullet that came through the window, Kubiak said.

Two of the victims were struck in the shoulder and the third was shot in the lower torso. All three are listed in "good" condition.

The shooting was possibly gang-related. No one was in custody.Grand Central Area detectives are investigating.

•A VICTIM WAS FATALLY SHOT early Saturday while sitting in his vehicle in the South Side's Morgan Park neighborhood.

Jo Juan Miller, 34, of South . Millard Avenue, was shot at 11301 S. Racine Ave. and was dead on the scene. About 4:45 a.m., he was sitting in his vehicle with a “companion” at 11311 S. Racine Ave. when an unknown assailant fired shots at him, police News Affairs Officer Laura Kubiak said.

A Sunday autopsy determined Miller died of multiple gunshot wounds and the death is ruled a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner said.

Calumet Area detectives are investigating.

•THREE PEOPLE WERE SHOT early Saturday on the Northwest Side’s Avondale neighborhood.

The shooting occurred about 1:15 a.m. in the 3600 block of West Belmont Avenue, said police News Affairs Officer John Henry.

Two people were shot in the shoulder, and a third person was shot in the lower torso, Henry said. They are all in good condition.

No description of the shooters is available. Grand Central Area detectives are investigating.

•THE OWNER of a small wholesale clothing store confronted two armed attackers who were trying to rob his son and he was shot in the neck Friday afternoon in the quiet Northwest Side neighborhood of Mayfair Park.

About 2:50 p.m., two attackers with handguns drawn and wearing dark clothing entered the  store -- Wholesale Concept Inc. -- at 4467 W. Lawrence Ave. and demanded money of the owner’s son working behind a counter, according to Albany Park District Lt. William Woitowich, who was citing preliminary information. 

When the storekeeper -- a man in his 50s who is the cashier’s father -- came over from another part of the store and confronted the two attackers, they shot him once in the neck, Woitowich said.

The vicitm is in Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center and is expected to survive, according to the lieutenant who declined to identify him.

Initially the victim was conscious and able to talk but is now in "critical" condition, Police News Affairs Officer JoAnn Taylor said at 5:30 p.m.

The two attackers ran off after the shooting and the lieutenant said he didn’t believe they stole anything. Detectives will be conducting a more intensive investigation including talking to the son, a man in his 20s, who was the only other person inside the store at the time of the attack.

The establishment sells clothing such as underwear, t-shirts and socks.

Woitowich could not confirm whether the employee who called 911 was the victim's son, as other reports have indicated.

The store has apparently not had any recently problems with robberies and the neighborhood where the incident happened is relatively quiet, according to the lieutenant who has worked in the Albany Park District for about 5 or 6 years.

“It’s one of the quietest parts in the [Albany Park] District,’’ Woitowich said. No one else was injured in the incident, Taylor said. The assailants remain at large. Grand Central Area detectives are investigating.

•THE NEW YEAR GOT OFF to an ugly start in Joliet with a beating police say appears to be racially motivated.

Officers were called at 5:04 a.m. to a fight outside the Marathon gas station at 324 S. Larkin Ave. -- at the corner of Larkin and McDonough Street.

Police Deputy Chief Patrick Kerr said two white men were using a garbage can from the parking lot to beat a 43-year-old black man.

The suspects are Lucas M. Bailey and Jerry Bryant, both 26.

Witnesses reported the pair yelled racial epithets at their victim and stated, "This is for Obama," likely referring to the ethnic heritage of the president-elect.

A police officer arrived and ordered the suspects to stop, but Bryant was apparently agitated enough to launch an equal-opportunity attack on the white officer.

"He swung and struck the officer with the garbage can," Kerr said.

The officer used pepper spray to subdue Bryant. Bailey attempted to flee while Bryant was being handcuffed, but was also taken into custody.

The victim was taken to Provena Saint Joseph Medical Center in Joliet where he is listed in stable condition with "lacerations and bruises" to his head.

"The victim was intoxicated and because of his injuries we have not yet been able to conduct a detailed interview," Kerr said.

The police officer involved in the confrontation did not require treatment for his injuries.

Bryant, of North Briggs St., and Bailey, of Roberts Road in Wilmington, were booked into the county jail on charges of aggravated battery, mob action, committing a hate crime and resisting a police officer. Bryant was also charged with aggravated battery to a police officer.

Records indicate Bryant has previously been arrested on hate crime charges.

In February 2003, he was one of two people arrested by Will County Sheriff's police after a fight started outside a house owned by a black family in the Ridgewood area.

Witnesses reported Bryant and his younger brother, yelled "racial slurs and derogatory comments" at the adults and juveniles inside before being charged with committing a hate crime and battery.

Bryant is also on parole for a five-year sentence of theft for shoplifting from a New Lenox store in December 2006. In 2005, he was sentenced to 39 months in prison after shoplifting numerous items from the Wal-Mart Supercenter in Morris.

He has also previously served time for robbery, aggravated battery and criminal damage to property.

•TWO MEN forced their way into a south suburban home and robbed the homeowner at gunpoint of $1,000 and a cell phone, police said. 


The men knocked on the front door of the home on Strieff Lane in Glenwood shortly after 4 p.m. and asked to use the phone, police said. The homeowner refused and tried to shut the door, but the men were able to push their way into the home.

One man brandished a handgun while the other ordered the homeowner to an upstairs bedroom, police said. One man stole the cash and phone while the other kept the gun trained on the homeowner, police said.

The men then ordered the homeowner to the floor and fled in an unknown direction, police said. After several minutes, the homeowner called police.

Glenwood police said they are investigating the incident but no one is in custody.


•TWO PEOPLE WERE SHOT one fatally, early New Year's Day during an argument on the Near West Side.

The shooting happened about 2:15 a.m. at West Lake and North Green streets, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joseph Roccasalva said.

David Garrett, 47, of West. Potomac Ave. was dead at the scene, saidthe Cook County Medical Examiner. He was found in the street with a gunshot wound to his head.

Another person, a 29-year-old man, was taken to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County in serious to critical condition, according to Roccasalva.

The man identified as Garrett was involved in a "verbal altercation" with an unknown suspect when the person shot him and ran off, according to police. The reason for the dispute is not known.

The victim’s mother, Judy Caldwell pleaded with the shooter to turn himself in. “You are just a coward, a coward. That was my only son.”

Harrison Area detectives are investigating.

•BERNARD McHHERRON, 29, was shot to death at his home on East 150th St. said the Cook County Medical Examiner. McHerron was pronounced dead as Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 1:35 a.m.
 
Harvey police declined comment.

•THE EXCALIBUR CLUB was the scene of a brawl early New Year’s Day  which left five  hospitalized in the River North neighborhood on the Near North Side.

An EMS Plan 1 response, which sends five ambulances to the scene, was called to the club, located at 632 N. Dearborn St., at 2:25 a.m., Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joseph Roccasalva said.

The victims are all in “good” condition in Northwestern Memorial Hospital . The investigation continues.

•AT LEAST FOUR FAMILY MEMBERS were stabbed -- two seriously wounded -- during a family fight early New Year’s Day  in the South Shore neighborhood.

About 2:30 a.m., four people were stabbed near East 78th Street and South Essex Avenue, Fire Media Affairs spokesman Joseph Roccasalva said. Police said the incident occurred outside a home and that the incident was being investigated as a “family fight.’’

Four were initially taken in serious-to-critical condition to John H. Stroger, Jr. Hospital of Cook County and Northwestern Memorial Hospital, Roccasalva said. Two were immediately treated and released.

News Affairs Officer David Banks said one person is in custody for the stabbings.  Calumet Area detectives are investigating.

•ALDO RUIZ WAS STABBED TO DEATH New Year’s Eve in a possibly gang-related fight in a Southwest Side alley.

Ruiz, 24, of South Western Ave., was found stabbed in the chest at the intersection of South California Avenue and West 61st St. He was pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 3 p.m., the Cook County Medical Examiner said.

About noon Wednesday, he left his vehicle in an alley in the 2800 block of West 60th Street when he was approached by two unknown males, police News Affairs Officer Amina Greer said.

An argument and struggle ensued and the man was stabbed in the chest.

After he was stabbed, he got back to his car and attempted to drive away, but crashed into a parked car near South California Avenue and West 61st St where he was found, Greer said. He was taken to Christ Medical Center where he was pronounced dead a few hours later.

No suspects are in custody, which appears to be gang-related, Greer said.

An autopsy is scheduled

•THE DEATH OF RALPH BRIDGES, shot outside a liquor store near south suburban Joliet, is under investigation.

Bridges, 56, had been a customer at Ranch Liquors, 1913 S. Chicago St. in unincorporated Joliet Twp., Will County Sheriff's spokesman Pat Barry said.

"Around 10 p.m., he walks (back) inside and says, 'I've just been shot,' before he collapses," Barry said.

The two clerks called 911 and Bridges was taken to Silver Cross Hospital where he was pronounced dead at 10:47 p.m.

Barry said the employees reported hearing a bang "like someone was stomping their feet against the building" shortly before Bridges returned to the liquor store.

"They also heard a car leaving the parking lot at a high rate of speed, but they did not see the vehicle," he said. There were no other customers in the liquor store .

Will County Coroner Patrick K. O'Neil said an autopsy confirms Bridges was killed by a single gunshot wound.

Barry said Bridges lived on Akin Ave. in Joliet. Detectives are tracing his steps before the shooting.

"It should be noted the victim is a registered sex offender with an extensive criminal history," Barry said.

Records show Bridges was arrested on weapons charges by Joliet police in 1979 and sheriff's police in 1980.

In December 1987, he attempted to escape a security guard at Hillcrest Shopping Center in Crest Hill "by opening the doors and getting into several passing cars" as he ran through the parking lot. Bridges was arrested after locking himself in the bathroom of a nearby fast-food restaurant.

He allegedly "jumped into a stranger's car" and led Crest Hill police on a chase during a similar theft the following November.

In 1991, Bridges was sentenced to three years in prison for two other shoplifting crimes.
 
Released early, he was arrested on charges of retail theft and burglary in 1993. The allegations included trying to steal a ham from a market in the 1600 block of West Jefferson Street. Police said Bridges ran into the nearby neighborhood, trying to escape, but was caught by a store employee and an off-duty officer. He was also charged with battery and aggravated assault during that incident.

Bridges was again arrested for retail theft after reportedly taking $39 in medical supplies from a Lockport pharmacy in 1998. He was charged with possession of drug paraphernalia by sheriff's police the following year and criminal trespassing by Joliet police in 2000.

In 2002, Bridges was one of 27 people arrested in Operation Pick-Off, a yearlong undercover investigation of crack dealers operating on Joliet's East Side.

According to reports, over the next six years Joliet police arrested Bridges on drug charges three more times and on a charge of criminal sexual assault in July 2008.

•A CARPENTERSVILLE WOMAN is arrested after stabbing her fiance, police said.

Shade R. Ashafa, 23, of Oxford Road apartments was charged with aggravated domestic battery. Ashafa and her fiance gave police differing versions of the events leading to the stabbing, police said.

According to reports, Ashafa told police she was trying to retrieve her keys from her fiance, and when he wouldn't give them to her, she got a knife to scare him. Ashafa said her fiance grabbed her arm and was stabbed during the struggle.

The victim told police Ashafa was trying to prevent him from leaving the apartment by threatening him with a knife, reports said. Ashafa's fiance said he was stabbed while trying to keep Ashafa away.

The fiance was treated at Sherman Hospital in Elgin. Ashafa is in  the Kane County jail, and her bond is set at $2,000.