Two Charged After 40 Shots Fired Outside Club Cuvee In River North
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two men have been arrested on felony charges after as many as 40 shots were fired outside Club Cuvee nightclub in the River North neighborhood earlier this week.
A witness told police people in two vehicles were shooting at each other around 3:15 a.m. Wednesday outside Club Cuvee, at 308 W. Erie St. The shooting was caught on video, and as many as 40 shots can be heard.
Two officers on foot spotted a white Rolls Royce fleeing the scene of the shooting. The officers drew their guns and tried to stop the car, but it blew past them, and headed to the feeder ramp, where it crashed into a barrier wall.
Two men fled the scene of the crash, and one was arrested at the scene. The driver, Antione Davis, has been charged with one felony count of aggravated assault of a police officer, one misdemeanor count or reckless conduct, and one misdemeanor count of driving on a revoked license.
Meantime, 32-year-old Levertise Hewing was arrested after getting into a fight with a police sergeant who responded to the shooting. Hewing allegedly battered the sergeant, and has been charged with a felony count of aggravated battery of a police officer, one misdemeanor count of resisting a police officer, and one misdemeanor count of reckless conduct.
Both are due to appear in bond court Friday afternoon.
Darnell Lindsey, a Chicago social media personality and comedian, who was standing outside of the club near a vehicle parked on the street when the gunfire erupted, caught the incident on video.
Lindsey, who posts on social media under the name @bighomieblocks, shared the video online.
He can be heard on the video comparing the sound of the shots to fireworks on the 4th of July.
"I'm just the cameraman--I'm just here," he said on the video as the cops ran by.
It was the second shooting linked to Club Cuvee in the past year, and one of several violent incidents linked to River North nightclubs.
"It's a fairly calm and quiet neighborhood during the day, but at night it seems to transform into something else around here," one resident said. He works in the same building that houses Club Cuvee. One of his co-workers, Mitch Green, told CBS 2 that another employee's car was struck by bullets during the incident.
Police Supt. Eddie Johnson said the city might have to consider shutting down Club Cuvee.
"When we have those type of incidents anywhere in the city of Chicago, we look at the possibility of issuing a summary closure to that establishment. This is no different," he said.
The River North area, known as one of the most expensive neighborhoods in Chicago to live in, is located in a police district that's seen at least a 60% spike in crime during the past four years, police data shows.
Recent murders have shocked the community, including the fatal shooting of off-duty Chicago police officer John Rivera, who was shot as he sat inside a vehicle outside of River North bar Stout in March.
A few weeks before Rivera was killed, a bouncer working at Sound Bar on the 600 block of Franklin was murdered when a verbal altercation broke out in the alley by the bar's entrance.
That bouncer, Thurman Bailey, 28, was shot along with another man who was wounded, police said.
Just over a year ago, Miguel Beedle was murdered while standing outside of a River North club. Police said Beedle was stabbed to death by a man who noticed him counting cash.
A handful of late-night River North clubs seem to bring criminals to the area, but not all bars attract unsavory customers.
The Green Door Tavern has been perched on the corner of Orleans and Huron since 1921. The dive-bar is less than a block from where Wednesday's shooting happened.
Employees had already gone home for the night by the time the shots rang out Wednesday morning, but news of the shooting has left staff shaken.
Chris Schmitt, a bartender at Green Door, said he always takes an Uber home after work because he's uncomfortable walking down the street with cash in his pocket.
"No one really walks around here at night anymore," Schmitt said. "It's Chicago, so it happens, unfortunately."