Man, 18, charged in 7-year-old’s killing wasn’t one of the shooters, prosecutors say

Prosecutors on Sunday said a teenager charged in the fatal shooting of a 7-year-old girl at a McDonald’s drive-thru was allegedly found with guns tied to the attack after he was shot during a police chase last week on the Eisenhower Expressway — but he wasn’t one of the gunmen.

Marion Lewis, 18, of East Garfield Park, faces counts of first-degree murder, attempted murder and a litany of other felony charges stemming from the killing of young Jaslyn Adams earlier this month and Thursday’s rush-hour pursuit. He was denied bail during his initial court hearing Sunday.

Chicago police

While Lewis wasn’t named as one of the alleged gunmen in Jaslyn’s shooting, Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin DeBoni placed him in the driver’s seat of the vehicle used in her killing earlier that day. DeBoni noted that Lewis was identified with the help of Jaslyn’s father, 28-year-old Jontae Adams, who was wounded in the April 18 shooting.

That afternoon, a silver Audi pulled into the parking lot of a McDonald’s, 3200 W. Roosevelt, and stopped behind Adams’ tan Infiniti, DeBoni said.

That’s when two individuals wearing hoods got out of the Audi and began firing into the car carrying Jaslyn, with one of them using a Draco, AK-47-style assault weapon with a “banana clip,” according to DeBoni.

After both shooters hopped back into the Audi, Adams attempted to drive forward, prompting the suspects to get out of the car again and open fire. Forty-five shell casings were recovered at the scene — 28 from the assault rifle and 17 more from a 40-caliber handgun, DeBoni said.

The shooting was caught on surveillance footage, according to DeBoni, who said Lewis wasn’t seen getting out of the Audi. However, Lewis allegedly posted a video to social media earlier that day that showed him driving a vehicle with interior details matching the Audi.

DeBoni said he was traveling with two individuals whose hooded sweatshirts matched those of the shooters, one of whom was seen with the Draco assault rifle allegedly used in the shooting.

Jaslyn and her father were both struck by the gunfire and taken to Stroger Hospital, where the young girl was pronounced dead and Adams was treated for a gunshot wound to the torso.

Cortesía

Adams identified Lewis and another suspect as members of the same gang based on the social media post, which was discovered after he told investigators that Lewis previously threatened him online. Police have said the attack that killed Jaslyn was gang-related and was believed to be tied to another shooting later that day that wounded two people at a Popeyes in Humboldt Park.

All three suspects in the video were identified as associates by a detective, DeBoni said.

Lewis was later tracked to an apartment in Lombard using a Facebook account, said DeBoni. Officers on Thursday set up surveillance at the apartment complex, where they noticed the Audi and saw Lewis leave with a backpack and get into a stolen Dodge Durango.

When cops in two “covert” vehicles attempted to box in the Durango, Lewis repeatedly hit a parked car until he was able to get free, DeBoni said. Lewis ultimately smashed into another police vehicle and led officers on a chase through the suburbs.

But after Lewis drove onto I-290, he lost control somewhere between Mannheim Road and 25^th Avenue and crashed into a concrete barrier on the shoulder, DeBoni said. Still carrying the backpack, Lewis crossed multiple lanes of traffic and approached a silver Land Rover carrying five people, including children.

Lewis flashed a 40-caliber handgun and ordered the occupants out before banging on the driver’s window, DeBoni said. Lewis then fired a shot at the window, causing it to shatter. No one was struck, but DeBoni said the driver was cut by shards of glass and a passenger in the back was “unable to exit with her children in the car seats on either side of her.”

An officer who heard the shot saw Lewis pull the driver out of the SUV, DeBoni said. While ordering Lewis to raise his hands, the officer noticed the handgun underneath his thigh as he sat in the SUV.

As Lewis refused to comply with the officers’ orders and made motions toward the gun, the Land Rover began rolling backward. In the path of an open door, the officer fired five shots and struck Lewis in his left shoulder, DeBoni said.

Tyler LaRiviere/Sun-Times file photo

The handgun was recovered with a bullet in the chamber and 18 more in an extended magazine, DeBoni said. The Draco was found in Lewis’ backpack with 18 live cartridges.

DeBoni said the rounds collected at the scene of Jaslyn’s killing matched the guns.

Lewis has a lengthy juvenile record, including two pending cases in which he faces charges of possession of a stolen motor vehicle, criminal damage to property, burglary and looting. Lewis’ attorney, Steve Greenberg, said his client lives with his grandmother and suffers from mental health issues while urging Judge David Navarro to grant him bail.

In turn, Navarro denied Lewis bail. His next court date was set for Thursday.