No Bond For Suspect CPD Says Shot 21-Month-Old Kayden Swann
CHICAGO (CBS) -- No bond for the man who police say shot the 21-month-old in the head on Lake Shore Drive.
CBS 2 Investigator Megan Hickey reports on how the 25-year-old suspect was caught and how the road rage shooting keeps changing.
Since the shooting on April 6, there have been different accounts of what was said, who flashed their guns and who fired the shots. But now prosecutors said Deandre Binion was the aggressor.
Jushawn Brown's girlfriend, the grandmother of 21-month-old Kayden Swann, originally pointed the finger at Brown saying he was the one who instigated the tragic road rage incident and fired the shots.
"That's totally a lie. I don't understand why she would even do that," Brown said.
Prosecutors said it was a lie. That evidence from the scene shows Brown never shot his gun. They said 25-year-old Deandre Binion did shoot after they both tried to merge into the same lane.
Charging documents showed Brown told Binion to back off and that "he had a child in the car." Police said Binion drove up alongside him. Binion dangled a gun.
Brown picked up the handgun that he had below his feet and flashed it at Binion before putting it in his lap. As Brown drove away, prosecutors say Binion fired four to five shots from his vehicle.
One of them hitting 21-month-old Kayden.
"I think this is a great example of good police work."
Former state and federal prosecutor and former judge Patricia Brown Holmes is talking about the way that police caught Binion. With a license plate reader on the expressway. They tracked the rental car to an Enterprise. The rental company was able to connect the car to Binion's girlfriend, which led police to their suspect.
In court, prosecutors said Binion had no criminal record. But CBS 2 was able to find a history of 2017 firearms charges including unlawful use of a weapon. But the Cook County State's Attorney confirmed that Binion was never convicted, so his slate was clean.
"If you're not convicted, it's out of bonds. Those are only charges and if the stat could not sustain the burden of proof for whatever reason then the judge is not allowed to know about it or to use it as a part of the equation," Holmes said.
Baby Kayden suffered a severe brain injury but earlier this week doctors said he was out of intensive care and showing remarkable progress.
