No bail for alleged weed dealer charged with fatally shooting former customer in Riverdale

Bail was denied Sunday for an alleged marijuana dealer accused of gunning down one of his customers last week in south suburban Riverdale.

Gregory N. Murry Jr., 21, of Harvey, was charged with first-degree murder in the killing of 30-year-old Victor L. Johnson, authorities said. He also faces felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, possession of a stolen motor vehicle and criminal damage to government property.

About 10:10 a.m. Tuesday, Johnson was walking to buy some marijuana and video chatting with a female, Assistant State’s Attorney David Myers said at Murry’s initial court hearing. While Johnson, authorities said, had previously bought pot from Murry, Myers said he was on the way to meet a different dealer.

Johnson was then shot six times in the 14300 block of South Tracy Avenue and rushed to MetroSouth Medical Center in Blue Island, where he died at 10:53 a.m., according to Myers and the Cook County medical examiner’s office. A train conductor who called for help reported hearing the gunfire and seeing a gray Jeep drive away after the shooting.

Surveillance footage showed the Jeep driving through the area at the time of the attack and pulling up minutes later to the 14600 block of Vincennes Road in Harvey, Myers said. Murry, who prosecutors say lives in that block, was seen holding something in his hand and going into a home with another person.

On Thursday evening, officers in Harvey stopped a Dodge Charger Murry was driving after noticing it had the same license plates as the Jeep that was used in the shooting, Myers said.

The officers arrested Murry when they learned the license plates and the Charger had separately been reported stolen, according to Myers, who said a 9mm handgun was found in Murry’s waistband.

The following day, a SWAT team searched the home on Vincennes and found a .357 revolver in a bag that was hidden in a vent, Myers said. Officers detained the female who was chatting with Johnson before he was killed when they saw her leaving the home.

Text messages recovered from her phone showed Murry asking her to “put the gun up,” Myers said. She ultimately admitted to owning the bag and hiding the gun at his behest, Myers said.

Bullets recovered from Johnson’s body matched the gun found at the home, Myers said.

While in custody, Murry allegedly admitted to driving the Jeep, being near the scene of the killing and speaking to Johnson the day he was fatally shot, Myers said. Murry also is alleged to have broken a sprinkler and flooded his holding cell, causing more than $500 in damages.

Myers urged Judge David Navarro to deny bail for Murry, who was granted probation after being convicted of identity theft and forgery in 2017. Louis Caprio, Murry’s private attorney, requested a quarter-million-dollar bail, noting that his client owns a barbershop in Harvey and is married with two children.

Navarro nevertheless ordered Murry held without bail on the murder charge and set his bail at $5,000 on the other charges. His next court date was set for Tuesday.