Jurors watch video of interrogation of suspect in murder of CPD officer Michael Bailey

Anton Carter, charged with 2010 killing of veteran officer, was cagey during his videotaped interrogation.

SHARE Jurors watch video of interrogation of suspect in murder of CPD officer Michael Bailey
Slain Chicago Police officer Michael Bailey

Chicago Police officer Michael Bailey, who was killed in July 2010 during what prosecutors say was a car-jacking attempt outside his home. Alleged gunman Antwon Carter is on trial for the killing. AP Photo/Chicago Police Department, File)

AP

Cook County prosecutors said Anton Carter bragged about killing Chicago Police Officer Michael Bailey to numerous people: friends from his neighborhood; a prison barber and inmates with whom he shared a courthouse holding cell for a few hours while waiting for a hearing.

But in a videotaped interrogation with a pair of detectives nearly a year after Bailey’s murder, the alleged cop-killer was cagey.

As Carter’s trial for Bailey’s murder continued into its second week on Tuesday, prosecutors played video of the July 2011 interrogation, showing a relatively civil exchange between detectives and a then 24-year-old suspect who was picking at a gyro sandwich. Carter, whose first name is listed as “Antwon” in court records, talked gamely about his technique as a “stickup guy” but wouldn’t admit to killing Bailey even after detectives told him he’d been identified by witnesses in a lineup.

“I ain’t got no violence in my background,” Carter said, at one point during the 20 minutes or so of the interrogation played in court, his voice barely audible over the rustle of sandwich wrappers.

Before the taping started, detectives who confronted Carter found him willing to talk about a botched car-jacking that became a car chase that ended with a crash, Det. Timothy Murphy testified.

“He laughed, and asked how he was identified,” Murphy said.

Carter was open about his criteria for targets, and that he sought out people who seemed unlikely to resist when he flashed a gun, Murphy said. Another detective offered that perhaps Carter chose the wrong man when he approached the 62-year-old cop, who was wearing a baseball jersey over his uniform as he washed a brand-new Buick in front of his house early on the morning of July 18, 2010.

“There’s a difference between holding somebody up and shooting a police officer,” the detective said. “That’s the gamble you take when you put a pistol in somebody’s face. Something can go wrong.”

The prosecution’s case so far has hinged largely on testimony from those “snitch” witnesses and friends of Carter who said they heard Carter brag about killing Bailey. Carter’s lawyers have said those comments were more so bragging by a scrawny “stickup kid” who wanted to build his reputation on the street and in jail. The murder weapon was never found, and no physical evidence links Carter to the shooting.

Testimony is expected to resume Thursday.

The Latest
The incident occurred about 3:40 p.m. near Minooka. The horse was successfully placed back into the trailer, and the highway reopened about 40 minutes later. No injuries were reported.
The Hawks conceded the game’s only two goals within the first seven minutes and were shut out for the 12th time this season in a 2-0 defeat Thursday.
Eileen O’Neill Burke is leading Clayton Harris III, 50.15% to 49.85%, a margin that changed only by hundredths of a percentage point, after city and suburban officials tallied more mail-in ballots Thursday.
Suspect Romeo Nance’s son witnessed the shooting of at least five relatives, according to Joliet police reports obtained through a public records request. The reports also indicate the child’s mother was more deeply involved in the case than first thought.
Counsell is measured and stoic, more so than Joe Maddon or David Ross. After Justin Steele’s Opening Day injury, Counsell will put his head down, pace and figure it out.