No bail for man charged in murder of guy video-chatting with girlfriend

SHARE No bail for man charged in murder of guy video-chatting with girlfriend

A convicted killer was charged with murder in a shooting in which one man was killed while video-chatting with his girlfriend and two people were injured.

Prosecutors said Jonathan Rucker, 24, was not the triggerman who killed Deanthony Jackson during a home invasion in south suburban Dixmoor. But Cook County Judge Maria Kuriakos Ciesil ordered him held without bail during a Sunday hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse.

Rucker, who was convicted of second-degree murder, had three warrants out for his arrest, according to court records.

Late on Oct. 20, Rucker and two unidentified “co-offenders” approached a man sitting on a milk crate outside a home near 143rd and Paulina, Assistant State’s Attorney Joe Bruckman said.

Rucker pointed a gun at the man while his two accomplices went through the man’s pockets, robbing him of $25, prosecutors said. Rucker then ordered his accomplices into the home to continue the armed robbery.

Three gunshots rang out while they were inside, leaving two people wounded, Bruckman said. But a third shooting victim, Jackson, who lived at the home and was video-chatting with his girlfriend at the time, was fatally shot in the torso, authorities said. Rucker and his accomplices fled after the shooting, prosecutors said.

Jackson, 32, was pronounced dead shortly after midnight at Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey, according to the Cook County medical examiner.

Prosecutors said Rucker admitted to being at the home during the robbery, and at least one witness identified him, prosecutors said.

Rucker is listed as living in both Harvey and on the West Side of Chicago. He was charged with home invasion, armed robbery and first-degree murder.

Authorities did not provide any information about Rucker’s “co-offenders.” It was unclear whether they face any charges.

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