Man charged in Lawndale double murder

An Austin man has been charged with shooting two men to death as they sat in a car in Lawndale over the weekend.

Cook County prosecutors did not provide a motive for the shooting at alleged gunman’s Ladelle Carpenter’s bond hearing Wednesday.

About 6 a.m. Sunday, officers responded to the 2300 block of South Kolin Avenue after they were notified of gunshots in the area by ShotSpotter boxes monitored by Chicago police.

Quincy Ferguson and Darren Sims, both 28, were each shot multiple times inside a white Chevrolet Cruze and were pronounced dead at the scene, authorities said.

Chicago police

Private surveillance cameras captured Carpenter, 24, and an unidentified co-defendant circling the block twice in a blue Volkswagen before parking by an alley not far from where Ferguson and Sims were sitting in their SUV, prosecutors said.

After getting out of their car, Carpenter and the other shooter ran up to the SUV, opened a door and together fired at least 27 times with separate 40-caliber handguns, prosecutors said.

The shooters then ran back to the car and drove away.

Carpenter’s face was clearly visible in some of the surveillance footage, and after compiling footage from several cameras authorities were able to recreate the events of the shooting, prosecutors said

The Volkswagen used in the shooting is registered to Carpenter, and he was taken into custody as he was getting into the vehicle on Monday, prosecutors said.

Carpenter’s attorney, Frank Himmel, declined to provide information to the court about his client, but argued that there was not enough evidence presented by prosecutors to hold Carpenter without bail.

Judge Susana Ortiz disagreed and denied Carpenter bail.

Carpenter, who is charged with two counts of first-degree murder, is expected back in court on Aug. 24.