Charges dropped against mother and son in deadly West Pullman shooting; video shows man punching woman
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Cook County prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a woman and her 14-year-old son in the shooting death of a man during a fight in a West Pullman restaurant, after video came to light showing that man punching the woman before her son shot him.
Carlishia Hood, 35, and her son had been charged with first-degree murder in the slaying of 32-year-old Jeremy Brown on June 18 at the Maxwell Street Express located in the 11600 block of South Halsted Street. Hood, who was a valid FOID card and concealed carry license holder at the time of the incident, was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor.
Surveillance video before charges were dropped:
All charges against both Hood and her son were dropped on Monday. In a statement, Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx's office said the decision was "based upon our continued review and in light of emerging evidence."
"Based upon the facts, evidence, and the law we are unable to meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases," Foxx's office added.
Hood walked free from the Cook County Jail and embraced her family hours after the charges were dropped Monday morning. She declined to comment as she was released, but her attorney and family said they were relieved that she is back at home, saying justice finally has been served.
Prosecutors earlier had acknowledged the shooting was caught on video. According to prosecutors, Hood was in line getting food while her son waited inside their car. Shortly after, Brown entered the restaurant.
Video posted to social media shows Hood arguing with Brown inside the restaurant.
During the argument, Hood began texting her 14-year-old son, who was waiting outside in the car.
Surveillance video outside the restaurant shows the teen enter the restaurant, and cell phone video from inside shows Brown punching Hood at least three times in the head and face.
Prosecutors said that's when the teen pulled out a gun from his hoodie and shot Brown in the back. Brown fled the restaurant, but the teen followed him outside. He fired more shots after Hood told him to shoot and kill him, prosecutors said.
He was shot twice in the back and later died from his injuries. It's unclear why prosecutors decided to charge Hood and her son with murder in the shooting when their account of the shooting noted Brown had punched Hood before her son shot Brown. Prosecutors also acknowledged the shooting was caught on video.
"You have the right to use deadly force to stop that force against another person, and that's exactly what happened in this case, and that's exactly why the state's attorney's office dropped this case today," CBS 2 Legal Analyst Irv Miller said.
Miller said criminal charges, let alone murder charges, never should have been approved in this case.
"This goes beyond an injustice. Frankly, it's a miscarriage of justice as to what happened to this woman and her son," he said. "It's a situation where either the charges should have been rejected, or at the very minimum they should have been continued for investigation, rather than just, you know, say, 'Okay, murder charge. Send them to court.'"
Hood had been ordered held on a $3 million bond after she was charged last week. Her son was charged as a juvenile and was being held without bail before the charges were dropped. Both are now free.
Neither Hood nor her son had a previous criminal record. Hood is planning to file a lawsuit.