A man was wounded in a shooting Monday in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood on the Lower West Side.
The man in his 40s was shot in his knee about 2 p.m. in the 2200 block of South Bell Avenue, Chicago police said.
He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where his condition had stabilized, police said.
The man has allegedly refused to tell investigators details about the shooting, police said.
A member of the so-called Dixmoor 5 who landed $5 million in a wrongful conviction settlement said he “hit rock bottom” last year after being told the money he thought would sustain him for life was all gone.
But Shainne Sharp turned out to be the victim of a financial scam that has now led to federal charges against Marcus E. Boggs, 49, a former Merrill Lynch financial adviser accused of stealing more than $3 million from multiple clients, including Sharp, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jeffrey Cole ordered Boggs held in custody Monday. Assistant U.S. Attorney John Mitchell said Boggs had been arrested Thursday while trying to board a flight to Germany on a one-way ticket.
However, Mitchell conceded that would have been Boggs’ third trip to Germany this month— and not his first time leaving on a one-way ticket. Boggs is a jet-setter, records show, vacationing in luxury hotels in Europe, South America, Canada and the Caribbean. He managed more than $40 million in assets for more than 70 clients, according to court documents.
Now, Merrill Lynch has paid out more than $5 million to victims of Boggs’ alleged scam, records show. Bill Halldin, a spokesman for the firm, told the Chicago Sun-Times all victims have been compensated. He said Boggs worked for Merrill Lynch from 2006 to 2018, when he was fired.
“We promptly notified the appropriate authorities and have cooperated with their investigations,” he said.
Mitchell told the judge Monday that Boggs’ scam netted more than $3 million that has largely been used to pay down American Express bills and mortgages. But the criminal complaint filed against him accuses him of stealing more than $2 million from four clients. It said a new set of internal controls at Merrill Lynch uncovered the alleged fraud.
Among the victims is Sharp, who is identified in the 16-page document as “Victim A.”
Sharp confirmed his identity to the Sun-Times but declined to comment further.
The complaint explains how Sharp was awarded his $5 million settlement in 2014 and turned to Boggs to manage the money.
Sharp thought the money would last his entire life, but he told authorities Boggs contacted him in May 2018 to tell him the money was gone and his accounts would be closed. Though Sharp didn’t think he had spent the entire settlement, he said he trusted Boggs and believed him. That’s when he said he “hit rock bottom,” according to the complaint.
The document indicates Boggs used $815,000 of Sharp’s money to cover American Express expenses for Boggs and one of his relatives.
A lawsuit brought by Sharp, Robert Taylor, Jonathan Barr, James Harden and Robert Veal alleged that Illinois State Police teamed up with Dixmoor cops to frame the men — who were then teenagers — for the 1991 rape and murder of 14-year-old Cateresa Matthews.
The girl disappeared after leaving her grandmother’s Dixmoor home on Nov. 19, 1991, heading home. Her body was found three weeks later in a field near Interstate 57, dead from a single gunshot to the mouth.
Unsolved for nearly a year, the case made headlines when authorities arrested the five teens, ages 14 to 16, in the fall of 1992. Prosecutors at the time said three of the teens confessed and implicated the others. But the lawsuit, filed in 2012, claimed officers coerced the confessions even though the suburb and state police knew semen collected from Cateresa’s body excluded them.
Eventually, that DNA evidence exonerated the men.
(WHEATON, GLEN ELLYN) Police were investigating a string of early Monday home burglaries that targeted residents while they slept in west suburban Wheaton and Glen Ellyn.
The burglaries, which happened between 2:30 a.m. and 6 a.m., targeted one home in Wheaton near Forest and Stoddard avenues, and three Glen Ellyn homes near Western Avenue and Anthony Street, the Glen Ellyn and Wheaton police departments said in statements.
Entry was gained while the residents were sleeping and items were removed, police said.
Residents in the area with exterior cameras are asked to report anything suspicious from that time to Glen Ellyn police at 630-469-1187 or Lieutenant Bill Cooley of the Wheaton police at 630-260-2077.
The cases remain under investigation, police said.
Wheaton police also reported numerous burglaries to motor vehicle between Aug. 21, and Aug. 22. The burglaries occurred in the areas of the Dorset Drive, Richton Drive, and Sherwood Place.
(OAK PARK) Police are looking for a teenager and 10-year-old boy who stole a vehicle at gunpoint last week in west suburban Oak Park.
The boy and an 18-year-old man allegedly approached a car owner about 5:40 p.m. Aug 13 in the 300 block of Wisconsin, according to Oak Park police.
Armed with a black handgun, the pair demanded the victim’s keys and wallet, police said. They took the keys and stole the person’s vehicle parked nearby.
Chicago police found the vehicle early the next day in the 200 block of North Latrobe in the West Side Austin neighborhood, police said. No arrests have been made.
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Two men were wounded, one fatally, Sunday in East Garfield Park on the West Side.
About 9:25 p.m., the pair where standing outside in the 3200 block of West Congress Parkway when a group of men walked toward them and at least one of them opened fire, Chicago police said.
Adonta Scott, 33, was struck in the chest and rushed to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He lived in the same block where he was shot.
A 41-year-old man was struck in the leg and also taken to Mount Sinai Hospital where he is in good condition, police said.
No one is in custody as Area North detectives investigate the shooting.
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A teen was killed and three people wounded in a shooting Sunday in Chatham on the South Side.
Dontevion Gates, 17, was among a group of 30 to 40 people gathered about 3:33 a.m. in the 8200 block of South Maryland Avenue when shots rang out, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Gates was hit in the neck and back and rushed to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead, authorities said.
Gates’ uncle, Cornell Rhodes, wrote on Facebook that his heart is heavy with sadness.
“My nephew was taken from us it’s just a somber feeling right now,” Rhodes said. “I’m hurting more for his siblings and his mother (my sister) more than anything. No parent should have to bury their child… Truly gone too soon. Rest up Tae Tae.”
An autopsy Monday found he died of the gunshot wound to his back and ruled his death a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
A 20-year-old man was struck in the hand, and a 24-year-old woman was hit in the face, police said. An adult woman who was uncooperative with investigators was grazed in the arm. All three were stabilized at the University of Chicago Medical Center.
Witnesses gave varying accounts of the events leading up to the shooting, police said.
Police said no arrests have been made. Area South detectives are investigating.
Gates’ family is collecting donations online.
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A gunman was arrested after allegedly shooting a man during a fight Monday in East Garfield Park on the West Side.
The 27-year-old was arguing with someone at 7:55 a.m. in the 200 block of North Sacramento Boulevard, according to Chicago police. During the fight, the suspect pulled out a gun and fired at the man.
He suffered a graze would to the upper left leg and was taken in good condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, police said.
The suspect, 29, was taken into custody and brought to Norwegian American Hospital to be treated for a bloody lip, police said.
A person was hit by a freight train Tuesday on the Southwest Side.
The male was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn at 4:41 a.m. after being struck by a freight train on the CSX tracks near 87th Street and Central Park Avenue, according to Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt.
His age and condition were not immediately known, Merritt said.
Chicago police said dispatchers received reports from the railroad about a person hit while walking on the tracks but did not provide additional details.
A CSX representative said the company was unaware of the incident but was looking into it.
UPDATES TUESDAY DAYBOOK WITH 1 P.M. EVENT
1 p.m. – (CHICAGO) Area Central detectives will hold a press briefing to discuss a recent alert about multiple sexual assaults in Chatham and Park Manor. 51st Street and Wentworth Avenue. Contact: CPD News Affairs, 312-745-6110.
(WHEATON) A woman pleaded guilty and was sentenced Tuesday for paying $12,000 in bitcoins to a “dark-web company” last year to hire someone to kill the wife of a man she had an affair with.
Tina Jones, 33, pleaded guilty to a felony count of attempted first-degree murder before DuPage County Judge George Bakalis, according to a statement from the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office.
Bakalis sentenced Jones to 12 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections, and she will have to serve at least 85 percent of the sentence before being eligible for parole, prosecutors said.
The producers of the CBS show “48 Hours” contacted Woodridge police April 12, 2018, to report “an individual in Woodridge was involved in a murder-for-hire plot with a dark web entity known as the Sicilian Hitmen International Network,” the state’s attorney’s office said.
Jones, who previously lived in Des Plaines, paid the organization more than $12,000 worth of bitcoins in January to have the Woodridge woman murdered after having an affair with the woman’s husband, prosecutors said. She turned herself in April 17, 2018, but has lived with relatives in Georgia since posting bond April 23, 2018.
“Thankfully, the intended victim, whom the defendant deemed a romantic rival, was unharmed even though Jones carefully planned the murder and paid more than $12,000 in bitcoins to the Sicilian Hitmen International Network to carry out the murder,” DuPage County State’s Attorney Robert Berlin said in the statement. “This type of pre-meditated criminal scheming is an incredibly serious offense that warrants a serious punishment, as the defendant learned today.”
A person was fatally struck by a freight train Tuesday on the Southwest Side.
The train hit a “pedestrian trespasser” about 3 a.m. on the CSX tracks just north of 87th Street near Central Park Avenue, according to a statement from CSX.
The male was taken to Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn, Chicago Fire Department spokesman Larry Merritt said.
He has since been pronounced dead, according to CSX.
“CSX appreciates the swift response by local emergency personnel and extends its deepest sympathies to those impacted by this tragic event,” the company wrote. “At CSX safety is our top priority in communities where we operate. Incidents like these are a reminder to the public that any activity on or near railroad tracks can be dangerous.”
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A 22-year old man was killed Saturday in a drive-by in East Garfield Park on the West Side.
About 4:40 p.m., Keyontae Hodges was standing on a sidewalk in the 3700 block of West Ohio Street when a passing silver Infiniti began firing shots in his direction, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Hodges, who lived in East Garfield Park, was struck multiple times and rushed to Stroger Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead, authorities said.
An autopsy Sunday found he died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
No one is in custody as Area North detectives investigate.
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A man was killed and a woman critically wounded in shooting Friday in the West Side Humboldt Park neighborhood, according to police.
The pair were approached by someone with a gun about 8:15 p.m. in the 4200 block of West Iowa Street, Chicago police said.
The person fired several shots, striking 34-year-old Neal David Sumrell seven times and the woman three times, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Both were taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where Sumrell was pronounced dead, authorities said. The 28-year-old woman — struck once each in the chest, back and arm — was listed in critical condition.
An autopsy conducted Saturday ruled Sumrell’s death a homicide by multiple gunshot wounds, the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
Police said no arrests have been made. Area North detectives are conducting a homicide investigation.
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A 42-year-old woman reported missing from Edgewater on the North Side has been found safe.
Esmeralda Zela-Stuva was last seen Aug. 25 at her home in the 5700 block of North Sheridan Road, Chicago police said in a missing person alert.
Police said Tuesday morning that Zela-Stuva had been located safely.
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A man was killed in a shooting Friday in Garfield Park on the West Side, according to police.
About 12:20 a.m., officers responded to a ShotSpotter alert in the 3800 block of West Adams street and found 19-year-old Tiray Deshaun Burnett outside with a gunshot wound to the head, Chicago police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. He was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
An autopsy conducted Saturday found Burnett, who lived in Lombard, died of multiple gunshot wounds, and his death was ruled a homicide, the medical examiner’s office said.
No arrests have been reported. Area North detectives are investigating.
(LAPORTE, Ind.) An Indiana man convicted of molesting a child is now accused of trying to publish pornographic children’s books in another state.
Michael Christianson, 55, is charged with transportation of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Indiana.
Christianson, of LaPorte, allegedly authored and submitted three pornographic books for publication on July 2 to a publisher in North Carolina, according to a criminal complaint.
He was arrested on Aug. 9 and appeared before a federal judge weeks later, when he reportedly said “God hates me” while waiting for court to begin, the Northwest Indiana Times reported. The charge is punishable by up to 40 years in prison.
Prosecutors said Christianson’s books appeared to be geared toward children. They used large fonts, simple words and rhyming sentences, according to prosecutors.
The books featured images and text that encouraged children to play naked with one another, and encouraged children to play with naked adults, prosecutors said. Photographs and illustrations in the books also included depictions of minor children engaging in sexually explicit conduct, prosecutors said.
Christianson was convicted of molesting a 12-year-old boy in 2003 and was sentenced to a 30-year prison sentence, according to prosecutors. The child told authorities that he had been abused over the previous two years.
Christianson, who must register as a sexual predator for the rest of his life, was released from prison in 2016 and was still on probation when he was charged in August, prosecutors said.
UPDATES WEDNESDAY DAYBOOK WITH 2 P.M. EVENT
2 p.m. – (CHICAGO) Ald. Raymond Lopez holds a press conference calling for more funding for HIV and STI services on the South and West Side. 15th Ward Service Office, 6412 S. Ashland Ave. Contact: Jessica Gutierrez, 312-451-5408.
(MOUNT PROSPECT) A man has been charged with repeatedly sexually assaulting a child.
Raymond S. Grenke, 31, is charged with a felony count of predatory criminal sexual assault, according to a statement from Mount Prospect police.
The Illinois Department of Children and Family Services contacted police Aug. 14 to report “an outcry made by a juvenile at a local school of potential physical abuse of the minor,” police said.
After interviewing the victim, investigators took Grenke into custody for questioning, police said. He “admitted to his involvement in physical abuse of a juvenile.”
Grenke, who lives in Mount Prospect, was ordered held without bail during a hearing Aug. 25 at the Rolling Meadows Courthouse, police said. During another hearing Tuesday, his bail was reduced to $150,000 with special conditions including electronic monitoring.
He remains in custody at the Cook County Hail and his next court date is scheduled for Sept. 23, according to the Cook County sheriff’s office.
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A 78-year-old man was killed Monday in a two-vehicle crash in Brighton Park on the Southwest Side.
The man was driving northbound about 9 a.m. in the 3600 block of South California when a car pulled out at 36th Place and t-boned his vehicle, Chicago police said.
The 78-year-old’s vehicle spun out and struck a pole, police said. His vehicle caught fire.
He was taken to Mt. Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said.
The driver of the other vehicle, a 21-year-old man, was taken to the same hospital with a broken knee, police said. He was issued a citation for driving an uninsured vehicle.
An autopsy released Tuesday found the 78-year-old died from blunt force injuries to his chest from the crash, the medical examiner’s office said.
A police spokesperson initially said the 78-year-old was in the striking vehicle, but clarified on Wednesday that he was in the vehicle that was t-boned.
Chicago police’s Major Accidents team is investigating, police said.
(MAYWOOD) An off-duty Melrose Park police officer was in custody after a fatal shooting Tuesday in west suburban Maywood.
Two men were shot about 7:30 p.m. in the 400 block of West Lake Street, according to a statement from Maywood police.
The off-duty officer was involved in the shooting, according to a spokesman for the village. The officer has been placed on paid administrative leave while the investigation is ongoing.
Officers responding to the shooting found 33-year-old Arthur Walton Jr. and a 25-year-old man with gunshot wounds, police and the Cook County medical examiner’s office said. Walton, who lived in Maywood, was pronounced dead at 7:48 p.m. at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood.
The other man is being treated at Loyola for a gunshot wound to his leg, police said.
A suspect is in custody at the Maywood Police Department, police said, but declined to confirmed if it is the officer or if anyone else was involved. No charges have been filed.
Anyone with information about the shooting is asked to call the Maywood Police Department Investigations Unit at 708-450-4471 ext. 4307 or submit an anonymous tip at 708-450-1787.