Felon fatally shot sister’s boyfriend, paralyzed second man while drinking in Park Manor

A convicted felon killed his sister’s boyfriend and paralyzed another man during an alcohol-fueled shooting earlier this summer in Park Manor, prosecutors announced Sunday.

Colby Aiknes, 34, was charged with felony counts of first-degree murder, unlawful use of a weapon and resisting arrest in connection to the June 2 shooting and his arrest on Friday, according to Chicago police and the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

During his initial court hearing Sunday, prosecutors said Aiknes and the two men were drinking on the back porch of an apartment building in the 7100 block of South Champlain Avenue when he confronted 39-year-old Latron Tate about his sister. At the time, Tate and Aiknes’ sister “were in a sexual relationship together.”

Aiknes then shot Tate and his 41-year-old friend before running off, prosecutors said. He left his car in the back of the apartment complex, where it was set ablaze hours later.

A witness who lives near the older victim saw him bleeding on the porch and took his keys to get inside his apartment, prosecutors said. The neighbor began applying pressure to the man’s wounds but was told to check on Tate instead.

The neighbor found Tate laying dead on the porch before he could start chest compressions, according to the prosecutors, who said the neighbor “shooed away people” trying to rifle through the slain man’s pockets and didn’t see any weapons on or near the victims.

Both men were taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, authorities said. Tate was pronounced dead after suffering gunshot wounds to his forearm, chest and thigh. The other man was shot in the chest and was left paralyzed.

That man identified Aiknes as the shooter, and his neighbor positively identified Aiknes from a photo lineup, prosecutors said.

Aiknes was arrested Friday in the 6200 block of South Drexel Avenue, just a few blocks from his home, prosecutors said. He was found with a revolver, ammunition and brass knuckles.

While in custody, he said he was going to commit suicide and threatened to throw feces and spit on officers, prosecutors said. He ultimately wiped excrement on the walls of his cell before being taken to St. Bernard Hospital, where he was “sedated due to his violent behavior.”

Aiknes was previously convicted of armed robbery in 2015 in McClean County and was sentenced to eight years in prison, prosecutors said. In 2020, he was also convicted of weapons and drug possession charges in Iowa and was sentenced to a year of probation.

Though prosecutors asked that Aiknes be held without bail, Judge Kelly Marie McCarthy set his bail at $1 million because he wasn’t present for the hearing.

His next court date was set for Monday.