Second teen arrested in connection with Chicago officer's murder ordered held until next court hearing
CHICAGO - A second teen that was arrested in connection with the death of a retired Chicago police officer was ordered to be detained until his next court date.
The order came down when the 17-year-old appeared in court Saturday for a detention hearing.
He's charged with one felony count of first-degree murder and one felony count of murder (strong probability of death/injury) in the killing of 73-year-old Larry Neuman.
The teen is also charged with one felony count of armed robbery with a firearm in connection with the Nov. 21, 2023, armed robbery of a 21-year-old man in the 4100 block of West Jackson.
Earlier this week, Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling along with Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti and Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx announced first-degree murder charges against another offender, 16-year-old Lazarious Watt, in Neuman's killing.
Police were originally searching for the second teen following the shooting. However, on Friday afternoon, the department announced his arrest.
Members of the Area Four Homicide Investigation Support Team arrested the teen on Thursday in the 2400 block of East 75th Street.
The charges come eight days after Neuman, who was the department's longest-serving explosives technician, was mowing his lawn at his home in the 4300 block of West Monroe Street with another individual around 11:30 a.m. on June 20.
When the two were finished mowing the lawn, Neuman went inside his home to get money to pay the individual who helped him, said Assistant District Attorney Ann McCord.
When Neuman returned to give the individual money, he relayed that two people were approaching them and had ski masks on. Additionally, he noted that the two were carrying guns.
The second teen then approached Neuman and told him to freeze as he reached out to grab him. Neuman backed up and reached for his own gun when the teen grabbed his gun and fired shots.
The individual who was helping Neuman that day saw Watt also point a gun at Neuman. Neuman was able to fire a single round before falling to the ground. He was struck in the chest and the leg.
The individual with Neuman was unharmed and hopped over a fence to escape.
Neuman's wife heard a commotion and ran outside, where she found her husband on the ground. Police responded to the scene, where they located Neuman on the ground suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He was later pronounced dead at the hospital.
From the scene, police recovered Neuman's 40 caliber, along with four 9mm shell casings and one 40mm shell casing.
Following the shooting, police recovered surveillance video that allegedly captured both Watt and the second teen.
Additionally, a witness on a bike rode past Neuman's house right before the shooting, and the witness exchanged pleasantries with Neuman. The witness later saw the two defendants exiting the alley and stated that Watt was one of the individuals. The witness said they knew Watt from the neighborhood and identified him in a lineup.
Another neighbor allegedly saw Watt and the second teen flee the scene.
Four other witnesses allegedly identified Watt from the neighborhood and from the school where he attended.
On June 23, just days after the shooting, Watt turned himself in to police. A member of the community accompanied the teen as he turned himself in, authorities said.
The second teen was on the loose until Thursday, when he was arrested and charged.
He is set to reappear in court on Tuesday, July 2.