Feb 26, 2009 6:41 pm US/Central
Man Charged In Shooting Deaths Of 3 Teens
CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) ―
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Martin Ybarra was charged with the Feb. 20, 2009 shooting deaths of three Chicago teenagers.
The possible gunman in the
triple-murder of three teenagers last Friday on the South Side was charged Thursday afternoon.
All three teenagers were shot about 3:15 p.m. Friday during a dispute in the street near East 87th Street and South Exchange Avenue, authorities said.
Martin Ybarra, 20, of the 8300 block of South Buffalo Avenue, was charged with three counts of first-degree murder, according to Tandra Simonton, spokeswoman for the Cook County State's Attorney's office.
Ybarra will appear for a bond hearing in Violence Court (Br. 66) Friday at noon, Simonton said.
Assistant Police Supt. James Jackson confirmed Tuesday the arrest of a suspect believed to have been the shooter.
Johnny Edwards, 13, was pronounced dead at 4:14 p.m. Friday at University of Chicago Comer Children's Hospital. A Saturday autopsy determined Johnny died of a gunshot wound to the back and his death was ruled a homicide, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.
Johnny was a sixth-grader at Arnold Mireles Academy at 9000 S. Exchange Ave. and would have turned 14 Monday.
Raheem Washington, 15, was pronounced dead at 4 p.m. Friday at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Kendrick Pitts, 17, was also pronounced dead on the scene. Saturday autopsies on the boys determined they died of multiple gunshot wounds and their deaths were ruled homicides, the medical examiner's office said.
Pitts was adopted when he was 8 and was recently released from the Cook County Juvenile Temporary Detention Center. Pitts and Washington both attended Bowen High School at 2710 E. 89th St. Police said Saturday they were looking for "persons of interest" in the murders, but it was not clear whether they were still seeking those people early Monday.
Police refused to elaborate on the number of people they are seeking. Police Supt. Jody Weis said the teens were apparently attacked by several people, one who had an assault rifle. One teen was found at the corner, a second near East 87th Street and South Escanaba Avenue and a third a few doors away, witnesses said.
At least four shell casings were recovered from the area of the shooting.
A witness, who asked not to be named, said two young men ran past him eastbound on 87th Street near South Commercial Avenue and started shooting. One of the men had what appeared to be an automatic weapon. The witness said the area is plagued by gang violence.
The shooting happened less than a block from Immaculate Conception School at 8739 S. Exchange Ave. The school, for students in kindergarten through eighth grade, began dismissing students at 2:45 p.m.
A secretary at the school said they heard shots fired and called police. School officials kept students still on school grounds inside the building until police said it was safe to leave.
The deaths added to a school year that was already on track to be one of the most violent on record in Chicago. By mid-January, almost twice as many CPS students had been shot to death as the same period last year.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2009. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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