July 31--Chicago police say a man who got a second chance at life when murder charges against him were dropped was killed in a shootout this week after he tried to rob a man with whom he shared a long drug history.
The police account came as a shock to the family of Alprentiss Nash, who believe he was fatally shot during an armed robbery after he left a currency exchange on the Near West Side.
According to the department, Nash, 40, attempted to rob Paul Vukadinovic, 30, of Mount Prospect, during a drug deal. Nash drew his weapon first, both exchanged gunfire, and Nash was mortally wounded, said Anthony Guglielmi, a police spokesman.
The shooting took place around 2:20 p.m. Tuesday near West Van Buren and South Ashland Avenue, police said.
Guglielmi said detectives are conferring with Cook County prosecutors about whether Vukadinovic acted in self-defense. He was charged with aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and carrying a handgun without a proper concealed carry permit.
Nash was released from prison in August 2012 after serving 17 years for a murder charge that was later dropped by Cook County prosecutors when DNA evidence cleared him.
Nash's mother, Yvette Martin, said she was disappointed that murder charges weren't filed in her son's death.
"How can he not be charged for killing my son?" she said Thursday in a telephone interview. "Where is the justice?"
lbowean@tribpub.com
