Prosecutors: Chatham murder victim knew alleged shooter

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A 22-year-old South Side man was ordered held without bond on murder charges Friday for the fatal shooting of Jestin Walker.

Walker and his alleged killer, Jerome Buchanan, drove with two other friends to a party the 8100 block of South Eberhart Avenue around 1 a.m. on Oct. 17, 2018.

Walking from the car to the party, Buchanan and Walker fell behind the group, Assistant State’s Attorney David Mullner said at a bond hearing at the Leighton Criminal Courthouse. The two argued, and Buchanan drew a pistol and fired multiple shots at Walker, who staggered away as Buchanan and the men’s two other friends scattered, Mullner said.

Walker, 23, made it around a corner from the shooting scene before collapsing, Mullner said. Chicago police officers responding to the report of shots fired found Walker face-down on the sidewalk, police said at the time. Police found seven 9-millimeter shell casings at the scene.

The two friends who had been with Buchanan and Walker ran back to their car, and one of them identified Buchanan as the shooter, Mullner said. Surveillance video captured the shooting, and a third acquaintance of Buchanan’s identified him as the shooter in the video, Mullner said.

Assistant Public Defender Kevin Ochalla said that Buchanan works for a temp firm, and is a caregiver for his grandmother.

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