June 14--A South Shore neighborhood man was charged and ordered held with no bail Sunday in a May shooting that killed a boy and wounded another in the city's Bronzeville neighborhood.
Arieus Fitch, 20, of the 6900 block of South Paxton Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder in a May 24 shooting that killed 15-year-old Raheem Dameron, police said.
At around 8:15 p.m. that day, Raheem was leaving a Golden Fish Chicken restaurant and walking near 45th Street and Cottage Grove Avenue with four other 14- and 15-year-old boys and another witness, when four or five shots were fired from a silver sedan, Assistant State's Attorney Jennifer Keating said at a Sunday bail hearing.
Raheem was shot in the back and ran into an alley, where he collapsed and died, and another 14-year-old boy was shot in the ankle, Keating said. The 14-year-old victim was taken to Comer Children's Hospital, police said.
Witnesses identified Fitch, a member of the Young Money Faction of the Mickey Cobra street gang, as the gunman who shot the two boys, according to Keating. Prosecutors said they believe the shooting was in retaliation for a drive-by shooting May 15 where Fitch and another member of the same gang were shot.
Witnesses said the man who was shot with Fitch on May 15 was a passenger in the vehicle when Fitch shot Raheem and the other boy, prosecutors said.
The block where Raheem was killed has seen a number of shootings and homicides over recent years, mostly tied to gang conflicts that stretch from the north end of Bronzeville into the Englewood neighborhood.
According to court records, Fitch was out on bail and facing an earlier gun charge at the time of Raheem's death.
Cook County Judge James Brown ordered Fitch, who appeared in court Sunday with his left arm in a sling under a gray T-shirt, held without bail. His next court date is scheduled for Monday.
