Antonio Dickerson: Alsip man allegedly followed victim to barbecue before opening fire, killing one
Antonio Dickerson, 24
CHICAGO - New details were released this week after an Alsip man was arrested in connection to a mass shooting that occurred in Bronzeville nearly seven years ago.
Antonio Dickerson, 24, faces one felony count of first-degree murder, six felony counts of attempted first-degree murder and six felony counts of aggravated battery/discharge of a firearm.
A judge ordered Dickerson be detained based on information prosecutors presented at his detention hearing Thursday.
According to prosecutors, on Aug. 8, 2017, 28-year-old Alfred Mitchell Jr. hosted a barbecue at 63 E. 37th Pl. A witness and one of the victims briefly left the BBQ to visit a friend and were returning to the barbecue when they observed Dickerson and two unknown co-offenders following them.
A second witness was sitting in his vehicle on Michigan Avenue and observed the victim and the witness turn westbound on 37the Place and walk toward the barbecue. Once the two arrived back at the barbecue, the victim told Mitchell that she had been followed.
Minutes later, the second witness allegedly saw Dickerson and the two co-offenders walk to the corner of 37th Place and Michigan, brandish firearms and fire into the group at the barbecue.
The victim, who alerted Mitchell about Dickerson, heard the gunfire, looked to the corner and said she recognized one of the shooters as the person who was following her minutes before.
Following the shooting, all three of the shooters fled the scene.
Mitchell was shot in his flank. He was transported to Northwestern Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The victim who said she was followed was shot in the left leg. A third victim was shot in her left leg and right thigh. A fourth victim was shot in her leg. A fifth victim was shot in the leg. Prosecutors say this victim died in October 2023, but it was unrelated to this shooting. A sixth victim was shot in her buttocks while shielding her grandchildren from the gunfire and a seventh victim was shot in her left foot.
A total of 21 shell casings were recovered at the scene, including two 40-caliber shell casings, 12 45-caliber shell casings and seven 380-caliber shell casings. According to prosecutors, ballistics analysis revealed that those casings had been fired from three firearms corresponding to their calibers.
The victim who was followed and then shot after returning to Mitchell's residence brought a Facebook photo of Dickerson to the police. From there, they were able to ascertain his identity. The victim then positively identified Dickerson in a photo array as one of the three shooters.
In 2022, the witness, who was sitting in his vehicle on Michigan Avenue at the time of the shooting, came forward with his account of the incident while incarcerated at Cook County Jail. He positively identified Dickerson as one of the three shooters, prosecutors said. His detailed account was corroborated by body-worn cameras and surveillance video of the area of the shooting before and after the incident.
Dickerson and his co-offenders were allegedly captured on video less than 10 minutes before the shooting walking through the Davis Apartments property toward Michigan Avenue. Prosecutors say that civilians and police, who knew Dickerson well, identified him from the Davis Apartment surveillance videos.
On August 15, 2017, one week after the shooting, an individual turned in a 40-caliber firearm to the Chicago Police Department. It was determined through ballistics analysis that the two 40-caliber casings recovered from the scene of the shooting were fired from that weapon.
On September 28, 2017, a person was arrested in Evanston for gun possession, specifically a 45-caliber firearm, prosecutors said. It was determined through ballistics analysis that the 12 45-caliber shell casings recovered from the scene of the shooting were fired from that weapon.
The 380-caliber firearm used in the shooting has not yet been recovered, prosecutors said. An arrest warrant was issued for Dickerson and on Tuesday, he was arrested.
Though Dickerson positively identified himself in the Davis Apartment surveillance videos, he denied involvement in the incident.
Dickerson was 17 years old at the time of the shooting but is being charged as an adult.