UPDATES WITH DETAILS, POLICE COMMENT
Chicago Police Supt. Eddie Johnson briefly paused to gather his composure Friday as he spoke about how his detectives worked tirelessly since last summer to catch the person suspected of killing a police sergeant’s son who was home from college, the Chicago Sun-Times is reporting.
“Every officer in this department took his murder personally,” Johnson said, choking up. “And we vowed not to stop until we found his killer.”
Anthony M. Moore, 18, of the 7900 block of South Sawyer, has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Arshell Dennis III, an aspiring journalist who attended St. John’s University in New York. His father, Sgt. Arshell Dennis, once served with Johnson as a patrol officer in the Gresham District.
Dennis, 19, was shot and a friend wounded while they sat on the porch of his parents’ home on Aug. 14, 2016, shortly before he was going to return to college.
Police said Dennis and his friend were victims of mistaken identity. Moore and fellow gang members drove up to the home in Wrightwood in stolen vehicles, police said.
They fired at the porch, believing they were targeting rival gang members, police said, but Dennis and his friends were not associated with gangs.
Detectives said Moore made statements to other people admitting his role in the killing, and bragging that he killed an opposing gang member. Police said they were able to track the stolen vehicles with surveillance videos. The videos and “phone-data evidence” helped link Moore to the crime, police said.
Moore already was in the Cook County Jail, charged with possession of a stolen vehicle for allegedly swiping a Camry in south suburban Justice. On Jan. 6, Moore was charged with violating electronic monitoring the month before, according to court documents.
Shortly after the killing, Johnson said, “Officer Dennis dedicated his life to make this city safer, and his son Arshell was a good kid, making his parents proud and studying for a promising future as a journalist.”
On Friday, Johnson addressed Sgt. Dennis, who was at a press conference announcing Moore’s arrest.
“To Arshell’s family, I know there is nothing we can ever do to make up for what happened. But I hope this will bring some sort of peace and closure to your family,” Johnson said.
“We are incredibly sorry for your loss.”
Johnson renewed his call for tougher gun-sentencing laws, as well as mentoring for at-risk teenagers and more social services for disadvantaged neighborhoods.
Sgt. Dennis declined to speak at the press conference.
A 20-year-old who was with Dennis was shot in the arm and chest, but survived. Moore is charged with attempted murder for that. He’s scheduled to appear in bond court later Friday.