A fourth teenager was charged early this evening with beating to death 16-year-old Derrion Albert, an "innocent bystander" who walked into the middle of a street fight between two groups of feuding teens last Thursday, according to prosecutors. (source)
Charges of first-degree murder were announced against Eugene Bailey, 18, hours after three other teens were charged in the slaying. Bailey is to appear in bond court Tuesday.
The others charged are Silvonus Shannon, 19, Eugene Riley, 18, and Eric Carson, 16, according to the Cook County state's attorney's office. All were charged as adults and all were ordered held without bond today.
Prosecutors said the fight -- with teens punching and kicking and swinging two-by-fours -- was related to a shooting outside Fenger earlier Thursday.
At the teens' bond hearing this afternoon, a Cook County prosecutor said Albert was beaten by teens from both sides of the simmering rivalry. One group of Fenger students lived near the school and the other is from the Altgeld Gardens housing development.
Carson, who was allegedly from the faction near Fenger, was the first to hit Albert with a railroad tie, according to Assistant State's Atty. Jodi Peterson.
As Albert struggled to stand up and escape the melee, Riley also hit him with a railroad tie and Shannon repeatedly stomped on his head, the prosecutor said. Both Riley and Shannon allegedly belonged to a separate faction that lived in or near Altgeld Gardens.
Records showed Carson is on probation for a robbery conviction. Shannon and Riley have no criminal records. (source)
This story is sad on so many levels. It makes me wonder whether the tragedy would have been overlooked by the media if not for the titilating video footage. The advantage of everyone having camera and video phones is that they can help police to make arrests. In this case, the video will hopefully lead to strong cases against everyone involved.
