Man charged in Calumet Heights murder arrested in Mississippi

Sun-Times file photo

A Burnside man was ordered held on $1 million bail Friday after he was arrested in Mississippi for allegedly killing a man and wounding the victim’s cousin in Calumet Heights.

Christopher Luckett, 41, was getting his car serviced at a mechanic’s garage around midnight on Jan. 16 when he saw two men park their cars nearby, Cook County prosecutors said Friday.

After asking the mechanic who the men were, Luckett began walking toward them.

The mechanic went into his basement to put away his tools and did not see what happened next, but prosecutors said the men, who were cousins, waved Luckett off as he approached them and walked toward a liquor store.

That’s when Luckett allegedly opened fire with a 9-mm handgun.

Lavelle R. Lee, 32, was killed after he was struck multiple times in the 9200 block of South Blackstone Avenue.

Lee’s cousin, 31, was also hit but managed to hide in some bushes until someone came to get him in a car, prosecutors said. He was later taken to a hospital by ambulance and he identified Luckett as the shooter, prosecutors said.

Christopher Luckett

The mechanic heard the gunshots and was returning to his garage when he saw Luckett get into his car and drive away, prosecutors said.

When a Mississippi sheriff tried to take Luckett into custody recently, he attempted to escape multiple times, prosecutors said.

A 9-mm handgun was found inside the home where Luckett was taken into custody, but prosecutors said tests determining whether the weapon matched bullet casings found at the crime scene were pending.

Luckett was returned to Cook County this week to face first-degree murder and attempted murder charges for the shooting, Chicago police said.

“There must be millions of 9-mm handguns” across the county, an assistant public defender said Friday in Luckett’s defense.

Judge Charles Beach agreed, saying the “9mm is now the most common weapon manufactured and sold in the United States.”

Beach ordered Luckett held on $1 million bail.

Luckett, a father, was employed in construction until he was laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic, his lawyer said.

He is expected back in court April 1.

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