Brothers charged with murder of Salena Claybourne, WGN-TV security guard shot and killed at South Shore gas station
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Two brothers have been charged in the murder of Salena Claybourne, a mother of two who was shot and killed at a South Shore gas station on Monday.
Chicago police said 22-year-old Gregory Watson, and 17-year-old Dameonte Watson both were arrested shortly after Claybourne, 35, was shot and killed Monday afternoon as she was sitting in her car at a Mobil gas station at 67th Street and Jeffery Boulevard. The brothers were seen fleeing the scene shortly after the shooting, but were quickly apprehended by responding officers.
Both are charged with one count of first-degree murder. Dameonte Watson was ordered held without bail Wednesday afternoon, and Gregory Watson was scheduled for a bond hearing on Thursday.
Prosecutors said just after Claybourne finished pumping gas and got back into her car around 3 p.m. Monday, The Watson brothers pulled up alongside her car on the other side of the island, and got out of their vehicle. Dameonte walked behind Claybourne's car and approached the passenger side, while Gregory, wearing all black and a ski mask, leaned into the driver's side and shot Claybourne in the face and shoulder, killing her.
The gas station manager, who was at his vehicle at the time, saw both brothers running away holding handguns. Both were arrested less than 20 minute later. Dameonte was found hiding under the back porch of a home in the 6900 block of East End Avenue, and Gregory was found in the backyard of a home in the 6800 block of South Euclid Avenue, according to prosecutors.
The gas station manager identified both of them as the shooters. The shooting also was caught on surveillance video, and their clothing matched that of the shooters.
Prosecutors said Gregory admitted he was there with Dameonte, and that the two just wanted to steal Claybourne's car, and flashed his gun so she could see it. He claimed he gave his gun to his brother, who hid them, prosecutors said.
As CBS 2's Asal Rezaei reported Tuesday, the victim - Salena Claybourne, 35 - was a mother of two and a beloved security guard at WGN-TV Channel 9.
Rezaei spoke Tuesday with Claybourne's family. They were extremely distraught - with her mother barely able to stand as she told us about the horrific details she has learned about her daughter's murder.
Claybourne's family said she was just stopping at the gas station on the way home from her job as a security guard when she was killed.
Claybourne was one of six siblings and leaves behind two young daughters. Her mother, Donna Claybourne, told Rezaei the thing she needs most right now is prayers for her and her family.
"Oh my God, my heart is breaking," Donna Claybourne said. "My baby - my baby, and they killed her and shot her three times. Oh my God."
Claybourne's sister, Sheila, is also still coming to terms with the shooting.
"This is rough. We've never been through anything like this," said Shelia Claybourne. "It's hard and its heartbreaking."
A "mom life" sticker was on Claybourne's car - in just one indication that her two daughters meant the world.
"I mean, we're going to make sure her girls are OK, but no one can take the place of your mom, you know?" said Shelia Claybourne.
Trying to push past the tears, Salena Claybourne's sister said the family will miss the way she brightened up any room she walked into.
"We're going to miss a lot of things about her - but mainly, her smile," said Shelia Claybourne.
We do know police have surveillance video from the gas station.
