Feb. 05--A judge set bail at $1 million for a second person charged with murder after a fatal shooting in the lobby of the Hyatt Regency Chicago hotel at McCormick Place during a fight over a woman, police said.
James Briscoe, 23, of the 8200 block of South Carpenter Street, appeared before Judge Laura Sullivan who set the bail during a hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court Building.
Briscoe, who is charged with murder, was identified as one of the attackers in the incident, which happened at 2:20 a.m. Jan. 23 in the lobby of the hotel in the 2200 block of South King Drive and left Courtney Taylor dead, police said.
Armonte Hooper has also been charged with murder in the incident and remains in custody after being held without bail.
During Hooper's bond hearing Jan. 30, prosecutors said Taylor, 25, and his friends had stayed at a birthday party at the hotel for a short time before deciding to leave. Upon leaving, a male partygoer who Taylor didn't know approached Taylor and his friends and accused Taylor of hitting on his girlfriend.
The man was with Hooper who, along with his friends, became verbally aggressive toward Taylor and his friends until a fight broke out between both groups, prosecutors said at the time.
Hooper and his friends then left the hotel. When they returned, Hooper pulled a gun out of his waistband and pointed it at one of Taylor's friends. Taylor's friend ran and someone hit him over the head with a glass table top, prosecutors said.
When Taylor ran to help his friend, Hooper shot Taylor, who fell to the ground. Hooper continued to fire at Taylor, shooting him five times, prosecutors said.
Taylor, of the 1600 block of South Paulina Street, was pronounced dead at the scene.
Briscoe has a pending aggravated unlawful use of a weapon case from 2014 which has been continued to March 21, according to the state's attorney's office.
Chicago Tribune's Marwa Eltagouri contributed.
