Charges dropped against mother, son in deadly Chicago restaurant shooting
CHICAGO - Murder charges have been dropped against a mother and her son accused of killing a man during a fight inside a restaurant on June 18 in the West Pullman neighborhood.
Cook County prosecutors announced Monday all charges have been dropped against Carlishia Hood and her 14-year-old son.
The Cook County State's Attorney's Office said in a statement, "Based upon the facts, evidence, and the law we are unable to meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases."
Hood, 35, and her son were initially arrested on Wednesday in connection to the fatal shooting of 32-year-old Jeremy Brown. Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Hood held on $3 million bail.
Hood’s next court date had been set for next month, but prosecutors scheduled a hearing for Monday where they announced they were dropping all charges.
Around 11 p.m. on June 18, Hood went inside Maxwell Street Express, 11656 S. Halsted St., to pick up food while her son waited in the car. While she was waiting in line, Hood got into an argument with Brown, prosecutors said.
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Hood then started texting her son and pointing to him outside. Her son entered Maxwell's and stood in the doorway at which point Brown punched Hood in the head three times, prosecutors said.
Court documents stated after the first punch, the boy pulled out a gun and fired a shot at Brown, striking him in the back. Brown ran out of the restaurant and the boy followed him, firing additional shots. Hood told her son to keep shooting Brown until he killed him, according to prosecutors.
Once the shooting was over, Hood told her son to shoot Brown's girlfriend who was egging on the argument she was having earlier. Hood tried to wrangle the gun away from her son, but he pushed her away, court documents said.
They then got into their vehicle and drove home together. Surveillance video captured both of them arriving home after the shooting.
Brown suffered two gunshot wounds to the back and was pronounced dead at the scene.
After the shooting, police sent out a community alert Tuesday asking for the public's help identifying Hood and her son.
Hood turned herself in to police on Thursday. During her search, police recovered an unloaded, unregistered handgun along with an empty magazine. Further investigation revealed Hood has a valid Illinois FOID card and a concealed carry license.
Hood and her son were initially charged with one count of first-degree murder. Hood was also charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. All charges have since been dropped.
Community Activist J’amal Green says it was self-defense.
"I would never praise a situation that ends in violence. In this case, the young man did what he felt like he needed to do," Green said.
Video sent to FOX 32 over the weekend apparently showed the confrontation between Hood and Brown inside the restaurant. The video shows Hood being punched in the head multiple times before a gunshot can be heard.
The Sun-Times Media Wire contributed to this report.