According to prosecutors, a young man who was with a 13-year-old boy fatally shot by a Chicago police officer last month fired rounds that caught the officer’s attention.
CHICAGO – A young man who was with a 13-year-old boy fatally shot by a Chicago police officer last month fired rounds that caught the officer’s attention, prosecutors said Saturday.
Ruben Roman, 21, is seen in the video firing the gun that police brought to the Petit poble neighborhood on the night of March 29. He and Adam Toledo, 13, fled the scene together, with prosecuted officers, prosecutors said.
Roman was arrested while another officer was chasing Toledo, who had a gun when the officer shot him, according to prosecutors. That weapon matched the worn-out cartridges found in the area where Roman was firing, prosecutors said.
“If the defendant does not carry the 13-year-old with him, if he does not carry his weapon with him while he is on parole, if he does not fire this weapon seven to eight times on a city street with the victim being with open arms as he fired those shots … none of this would have happened, “Deputy State Judge James Murphy told the court, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Roman’s attorney, Assistant Attorney General Courtney Smallwood, vigorously rejected the implication that Roman is responsible for Toledo’s death, noting that the weapon had been recovered from Toledo.
“The victim died at the hands of Chicago police officers, not my client,” he said, calling Toledo’s death “tragic.”
Roman was ordered to hold a $ 150,000 bail for juvenile danger charges and possession of weapons.
Lawyers for the Toledo family said they were present during the bail hearing, but the statement released by PC firm WeissOrtiz said it was not in a position to comment. The statement added that the firm has an appointment this coming week with the Civil Police Responsibility Office to view images from the police corps camera and other materials from the March 29 police shooting.