Austin man charged with fatal 2016 shooting at West Side gas station

Charges have been filed against an Austin man in connection with a fatal 2016 shooting at a West Side gas station.

Tavarus Johnson, 26, appeared Thursday at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on a charge of first-degree murder for a bail hearing, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

Just before 2 a.m. Nov. 13, 2016, 20-year-old Tridell Parker and several of his friends were at a Mobile gas station at 4804 W. Madison St. when Johnson pulled into the station with two friends in a black sedan, Assistant State’s Attorney Jamie Santini said.

There was a brief confrontation between the two groups near the gas pumps, and a short time later, Johnson and his friends returned to the sedan, Santini said. A second, brief confrontation occurred between one of Johnson’s friends and one of Parker’s.

Johnson was standing near the rear, passenger-side door of the sedan when Parker reached into the open, front driver’s-side door, Santini said. Johnson then walked around the sedan and pointed a gun at several people as he approached Parker. Nearly simultaneously, he shoved Parker and began shooting.

“[Parker] was like ‘no, no, no’ and then some dude shot him…He was begging,” a witness told the Chicago Sun-Times after the shooting.

Parker was struck and fell to the ground. He began to crawl away while Johnson continued to shoot, until the wounded man crawled under an SUV that was parked nearby, Santini said.

Parker was shot 12 times and suffered gunshot wounds to his back, hip, chest, right knee and both arms, Santini said. He was taken to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Parker lived on the South Side in the neighborhood around the Parkway Gardens low-income housing apartments.

Santini said Johnson left a fingerprint that was recovered from the side of the SUV Parker crawled under during the shooting and admitted to being present at the scene of the shooting to responding officers. The shooting, as well as Johnson touching the SUV, were recorded by video surveillance.

Johnson was taken into custody Tuesday following an unrelated court appearance at the Daly Center, 50 W. Washington, according to Chicago Police records. He is a documented member of the Cicero Insane Vice Lord Gang.

Johnson’s court-appointed attorney said he was a father who has worked for the last two years with a temporary staffing agency.

Judge Michael Clancy denied Johnson bail at the hearing. He was scheduled to appear in court again on April 24.