Man charged in January murder outside West Side barbershop

A West Side man was ordered held without bond Thursday for allegedly shooting a man to death and injuring another because he thought they had gone into his pockets and stolen his drugs.

Maurice Vickers’ codefendant, Dominque Brown, was arrested right after the two ran away from the scene of the crime on Jan. 9, Assistant Cook County State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

But Vickers, 36, of the 2900 block of West Wilcox Street, wasn’t nabbed for six months. Authorities tracked him in New York and Oklahoma before he was finally arrested on Tuesday for the shooting that claimed the life of 33-year-old Michael Harrison, Santini said.

Vickers and Brown were at a barbershop at 16 South Kostner Avenue when Vickers started to argue with the victims because he thought they had taken his drugs, Santini said.

Vickers and Brown left the business but came back armed and with a third person, Santini said.

Soon, Vickers and Brown got out of their car started firing at Harrison and the other man who were standing outside the barbershop, Santini said. The victims ran and took cover behind a parked car, but Vickers and Brown kept shooting, Santini said.

Harrison was hit in the abdomen. The other man suffered a gunshot wound to his foot and leg.

Brown was arrested two blocks from the scene by officers who heard the gunshots, Santini said. During the foot chase, officers saw Vickers throw a .40 caliber handgun, which authorities recovered and matched to shell casings found at the crime scene, Santini said.

Two days after the shooting, police found a 9 mm gun in a trash can in an alley, Santini said. The bullet found inside Harrison and 9 mm shell casings at the murder scene both matched that weapon, Santini said.

Harrison died at Stroger Hospital. The other man survived.

Brown, who is currently awaiting trial, allegedly implicated himself and Vickers.