CHICAGO – In March of last year, Chicago police arrested Tony Pearson in connection with a murder that was allegedly captured on video. However, prosecutors decided not to charge him with the murder. But they did charge him with possessing a machine gun when police took him into custody.
While he was still under electronic monitoring beforehand, prosecutors now say, Pearson fired shots into an occupied car at a gas station in Fuller Park — the same gas station where prosecutors allege he shot another man in the previous case.
Pearson, 19, becomes the very first person to be added to our list of people accused of shooting, killing or attempting to shoot or kill someone in Chicago while on pretrial release, while the ongoing case also includes them posted our list.
Here’s how that happened:
In March 2023, prosecutors charged Pearson with unlawful use of a machine gun after he allegedly placed the weapon on a barbecue grill while fleeing Chicago police. A CPD surveillance camera captured video of him hiding the gun, officials said.
Police pursued him because he was wanted for questioning in connection with the October 29, 2022, murder of a man named Anthony Sims.
According to prosecutor Lorraine Scaduto, Pearson had turned 18 just a week before the shooting at the corner of Pershing and Princeton. She said someone driving a blue Elantra fired shots at a group of people in the Wentworth Gardens housing complex. According to Scaduto, people on the sidewalk shot back at the car, and Pearson, who had been at a nearby gas station, stepped outside, pulled out a gun and fired several rounds at the Elantra.
The car’s rear window shattered and Sims, who was in the backseat, died from a gunshot wound to the back of the head.
Scaduto said Pearson was identified on video and through witness statements as the person who fired the shots from the gas station. However, he was never charged with shooting Sims, only with possession of the machine gun he allegedly dumped while running from police.
After hearing from Scaduto last year, Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Pearson to post $50,000 bail to get out of jail. Less than a month later, however, Judge Lindsay Huge let Pearson go home under electronic monitoring without any money, court records show.
Now, incredibly, Pearson is accused of shooting into an occupied car at the same gas station involved in the 2022 case while wearing an ankle monitor.
Prosecutors say the video showed him leaving the gas station around 9:25 a.m. on May 8, putting on a ski mask at the pumps and pulling out a firearm. Pearson pointed the gun and fired at an occupied car, hitting the vehicle but causing no injuries, according to the charges.
GPS data from Pearson’s ankle monitor showed he was at the gas station at the time of the gunfire and also confirmed his direction of flight after the shooting, prosecutors alleged in court filings.
He is now charged with aggravated use of a firearm.
Judge Mary Marubio arrested Pearson for a safety hazard on a charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm. She also detained him for violating pretrial release in the ongoing machine gun case.
He is the 27th person charged in Chicago this year with killing or shooting — or attempting to kill or shooting — while a felony case is pending. The cases involve 42 victims, 9 of whom have died.
The series ‘not terrible’
This report continues our coverage of individuals accused of killing, shooting or attempting to kill or shoot others while released into custody on a felony charge. CWBChicago began our series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly stated“There have been no terrible incidents” under the court’s bond reform initiative.
On September 18, 2023, Illinois eliminated cash bail entirely. Our “not terrible” continues.
The actual number of murders and shootings committed by people awaiting trial on felony charges is undoubtedly much higher than the figures seen here. According to city data, CPD has reported fewer than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of homicides since 2017.
