Why was man accused of killing Antonio Smith, 9, on the street?

SHARE Why was man accused of killing Antonio Smith, 9, on the street?

I don’t get why the man accused of killing 9-year-old Antonio Smith was on the street.

Derrick Allmon, 19, had already been convicted of “aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a gang member” and was on parole.

He served 21 months of a three-year sentence and was released on electronic monitoring in August.

According to prosecutors, Allmon was allowed to leave his home between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m.

Maybe the authorities thought he would find a job or attend classes during those hours.

That was obviously wishful thinking.

At a time when the city was putting a lot of its resources into trying to stop bloodshed in predominantly black neighborhoods, Allmon and his crew were allegedly riding around looking for rival gang members to shoot.

Allmon is accused of shooting the boy six times — making this crime one of the most heinous child-shootings since 11-year-old Robert “Yummy” Sandifer was executed under a viaduct by fellow gang members in 1994.

Most of us are horrified when a stray bullet kills an innocent child. We cannot even fathom that gang members would intentionally murder a 9-year-old boy.

But Allmon; Jabari Williams, 22; Michael Baker, 19, and Paris Denard, 19, were charged last weekend with doing just that.

Besides being tragic, this murder shows why it is difficult to address the high incarceration rate.

CONTINUE READING AT SUNTIMES.COM

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