Prosecutors say a young man who was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer along with a 13-year-old boy last month fired the rounds that caught the officer’s attention.
CHICAGO – A young man who was fatally shot by a Chicago police officer along with a 13-year-old boy last month fired the rounds that caught the prosecutor’s attention, prosecutors said Saturday.
Ruben Roman, 21, can be seen on video firing the weapon police brought to the Little Village neighborhood on the night of March 29. He and 13-year-old Adam Toledo fled the scene with officers, prosecutors said.
Roman was arrested when another officer was chasing Toledo, who was holding a gun when the officer shot him, prosecutors said. That gun matched the used cartridge cases found in the area where Roman was shooting, prosecutors said.
If the suspect doesn’t bring the 13-year-old with him, if he doesn’t take his gun on probation, if he doesn’t shoot that gun seven to eight times on a city street with the victim standing at arm’s length while he shot it fires… none of it would have happened, ”assistant state attorney James Murphy said in court, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Roman’s attorney, assistant public defender Courtney Smallwood, firmly rejected the suggestion that Roman is responsible for Toledo’s death, noting that the weapon was allegedly recovered from Toledo.
“The victim was killed by the Chicago police, not my client,” she said, calling Toledo’s death “tragic.”
Roman was sentenced to $ 150,000 bail on charges of endangering children and possession of weapons.
Lawyers for the Toledo family said they were present at the hearing on the bond, but the WeissOrtiz, PC company’s statement said it was unable to comment. The statement added that the company has an appointment this week with the Civilian Office of Police Accountability to view police camera footage and other material from the March 29 police shooting.