Bond Denied For Suspect In South Shore Shooting In October
CHICAGO (STMW) -- A convicted felon has been charged with a Southeast Side shooting that left a 14-year-old with a stray bullet lodged in his spine as he waited for his school's football practice to begin last fall.
Roosevelt Owens, 47, of the 10400 block of South Calhoun was ordered held without bond Tuesday after being charged with aggravated battery with a firearm for the Oct. 7, 2011, shooting in the 7700 block of South Kingston Avenue in the South Shore neighborhood, authorities said.
Police said gunfire rang out at 3:45 p.m., leaving 14-year-old Deonta Brown and a 31-year-old man in critical condition.
Brown was standing outside about a block from his home when an argument began nearby between two men, resulting in one of the men opening fire.
Prosecutors said Owens began shooting and struck the 31-year-old man eight times. Brown was walking nearby when he was struck.
Family members at the time said Brown suffered injuries to his pancreas and a major artery before the bullet lodged in his spine.
Owens was arrested Jan. 1 when police on their way out of South Shore Hospital smelled a strong odor of marijuana as he walked toward the ER, according to a police report.
Owens admitted he had been smoking marijuana earlier that day and erroneously told police his name was Charles East, the report said. They learned his real name when the woman he was with identified him as Owens. When the officers ran his name, they realized he was wanted for the October shooting.
Capricio Wilson, Brown's football coach at Bradwell Elementary School, said at the time it appeared he knew neither of the men and was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. Wilson said he learned about the shootings from two of his players, who were near Brown when he was shot.
Wilson described Brown as a "great kid" who dreamed of one day playing professional football.
Owens has a criminal history which includes convictions for aggravated battery, armed robbery and unlawful use of a weapon, prosecutors said.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2012. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
