What We Know About The Suspect In The Murder Of CPD Commander Paul Bauer
CHICAGO (CBS/WBBM Newsradio) -- The 44-year-old man charged with murdering Chicago Police Cmdr. Paul Bauer in the Loop on Tuesday has a lengthy criminal record.
Bauer, 53, was shot and killed while trying to apprehend a suspect Tuesday afternoon at the Thompson Center. The man he was chasing had just run away from a group of tactical officers who was acting suspiciously near State and Wacker.
Officers sent out a description of the suspect over police radio, and Bauer spotted the suspect at the Thompson Center and confronted him. Police said that's when the suspect shot him several times, fatally wounding the commander.
Police said the suspect was taken into custody and a weapon was recovered at the scene.
Sources said the man was carrying a semi-automatic handgun with a 30-round magazine, and was wearing body armor. He shot Bauer at least four times in the head. Sources said he also was carrying multiple bags of heroin, crack cocaine, and marijuana at the time he was arrested.
Detectives have been working through the night combing over evidence and building a case against the suspect. Police Department spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said charges were expected by Thursday afternoon.
Police and court records show the 44-year-old man in custody has a lengthy criminal record dating back to 1994, including at least five convictions.
• In January 2015, he pleaded guilty to drug possession charges, and was sentenced to 2 years in prison.
• In October 2011, he was convicted of a battery charge, and was sentenced to a year of probation and 30 days community service; he was cleared of a second battery charge and two counts of resisting an officer.
• In October 2009, he pleaded guilty to a gun charge from 2007, and was sentenced to 3 years in prison. A charge of being a felon in possession of body armor and a drug charge were dropped in that case.
• In 1998, he was convicted of armed robbery, and sentenced to 16 years in prison. In that case, the man wore body armor while committing a robbery in Forest Park, sources said.
• In 1996, he was convicted of a drug charge, and sentenced to a year of probation.
• He also had a drug possession case dropped in 2009; four other criminal charges against him in two separate cases were dropped in 1994.
