June 15--A 16-year-old who prosecutors say helped steal a vehicle used in a fatal drive-by shooting in the Heart of Chicago neighborhood last fall now faces murder charges.
Diego Belmont, 16, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder and unlawful possession of a stolen vehicle in the killing of David Morgan, 36, near his home in the 2100 block of West 19th Street on Oct. 26, 2014. Belmont helped steal a pickup truck that was used in the drive-by shooting that killed Morgan, prosecutors said Sunday.
Morgan pointed a gun at the truck, then one of the men in the pickup began firing a gun and shot him in the back of the head, prosecutors said. Morgan was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he died later that evening, according to the Cook County medical examiner's office.
The men in the vehicle who shot Morgan tried to burn the truck, but the truck was found and a fingerprint was found on a gas can that led police to one of the people involved, said Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Keating.
Belmont admitted to helping steal the truck so his gang could use it for a drive-by shooting, saying "everyone had a part, and that was his part," according to Keating.
Prosecutors asked Judge James Brown to order Belmont held without bail, but an attorney representing Belmont objected, saying he was not involved in the actual shooting and Morgan had been first to raise a gun.
Brown ordered Belmont, of the 1600 block of West 18th Street, held in lieu of $1 million bail and his next court date is set for Monday.
