Man on house arrest for gun offense shoots, kills teen from outside his Lawndale home: prosecutors

A man on house arrest for carrying a gun without a license allegedly shot and killed a 15-year-old boy who lived across the street from his Lawndale home, Cook County prosecutors say.

Dequawn Little, 21, was allegedly close enough to his electronic monitoring box, located in the dining room of the house, that he didn’t trigger a violation, according to a bond proffer prepared by the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Little faces a count of first-degree murder in an April 8 shooting of Demetrius Hardy, prosecutors said.

The scene unfolded on South Kilbourn Avenue as Hardy was using his phone on his front porch, prosecutors said.

Little appeared from the mouth of the gangway across the street and let off seven shots at Hardy, prosecutors said.

Hardy, struck in the chest and leg, fell to the ground and died at the scene.

One witness, outside with her dog, saw Little run back through the gangway into the rear of his home, prosecutors said.

Officers later arrested Little when they saw him exit his home. The witness identified Little as the shooter at the scene, and later in a photo array, prosecutors said.

Detectives found seven .40 caliber shell casings at the gangway of Little’s home, prosecutors said. Police also found a .40 caliber Glock in his back yard. Detectives weren’t able to recover fingerprints from the gun, but did prove that the Glock fired all seven rounds.

Prosecutors did not offer a possible motive.

At the time of the shooting, Little was on electronic home monitoring for a December 2019 charge of carrying a loaded gun without a Firearm Owners Identification card, court records show. He has pleaded not guilty in that case.

Cook County Judge David Navarro on Friday ordered Little held without bail, according to court records. He is due back in court April 29.

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