Man charged with Back of the Yards slaying during argument

A man accused of shooting another last summer during an argument in the Back of the Yards neighborhood was ordered held without bail Thursday, days after he was arrested in downstate Peoria.

Rodney Jones, 44, is charged with first-degree murder in the shooting of 40-year-old Sid Taylor Jr. last summer during an argument in the 5200 block of South Peoria Street, according to Cook County prosecutors.

About midnight on July 26, 2018, Taylor was hanging out with two friends in front of a house in the block when Jones approached the group through a nearby gangway and began arguing with Taylor, prosecutors said.

Jones left, but returned again 30 minutes later and argued with Taylor again, eventually pushing Taylor into a fence and causing Taylor to fight back, prosecutors said. One of Taylor’s friends tried to break up the fight, but Jones pulled out a gun and pointed it at Taylor.

Chicago police

Taylor had raised his hands in defense and started to run when Jones fired at him, prosecutors said. Taylor fell to the ground, but got up and started running again, causing Jones to fire several more times until Taylor fell to the ground again.

Chicago police officers responding to a ShotSpotter report of gunfire found Taylor unresponsive with gunshot wounds to his arms and back, authorities said. He was taken to University of Chicago Medical Center and pronounced dead. Investigators recovered seven 9 mm casings at the scene.

A witness identified Jones as the shooter by name and later identified him in a photo array, prosecutors said. Jones was also identified by other eyewitnesses from photo arrays, and a warrant was issued for his arrest in February.

Jones was arrested Tuesday in Peoria, authorities said. He was most recently living with his grandmother in the Back of the Yards neighborhood and was working as a barber, his assistant public defender said.

Jones was convicted of attempted murder in 1994 and received six years in prison, prosecutors said. He also has convictions for unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, theft, aggravated battery to a police officer and criminal damage to property.

Judge Arthur Wesley Willis ordered Jones held without bail and set his next court date for July 8.