Man already in jail ordered held for Douglas shooting that injured 8-year-old girl
Kenneth J. Williams, 23, who was already in jail custody on a separate gun charge, was ordered detained by Cook County Judge John Hock at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Wednesday afternoon after authorities charged Williams with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery.
The shooting was a result of a verbal altercation between people in two vehicles around 9:45 p.m. on June 24 in the Douglas neighborhood, according to the prosecution's proffer, which states the allegations.
A Nissan was parked at a gas station, with the child sitting in the car's trunk, when a white Chevrolet pulled up, according to prosecutors.
A woman got out of the arriving Chevrolet and accused the Nissan's driver of striking her daughter as a pedestrian, according to the proffer.
The witnesses in the Nissan tried telling the woman they had not struck her daughter and eventually left the gas station, but the woman in the Chevrolet trailed them and continued to follow as they tried to get away from her, according to the proffer.
The Nissan eventually pulled over at 3047 S. State St., near a group of people on the sidewalk that included Williams, who knew the woman in Chevrolet, who also pulled over, authorities said.
After more quarreling between the vehicles and the people on the sidewalk, authorities said Williams pulled out a gun from his waistband and fired four shots at the back of the Nissan, striking the girl, according to the proffer.
The Nissan's driver fled and found an ambulance nearby, which transported the girl to Comer Children's Hospital, from where she was released the same night with no major complications due to a gunshot wound to her left thigh.
At the time of his arrest, Williams was already in jail after he was charged with felony possession of a weapon and possession of a firearm by a felon charge, for which he appeared in court and was detained on July 18, court records showed. He had other felony convictions and charges over the last several years.
Williams was also on pretrial release at the time of his detention for a charge of criminal trespass to vehicles out of Will County, according to court records. Witnesses identified Williams as the shooter, and charged him.
Assistant State's Attorney Joseph Sorrentino said the shooting was 'as dangerous as it gets.'
'Luckily, no one died, but easily this could have been a lot worse,' Sorrentino said. 'There could have been multiple people struck because there were several shots.'
Assistant public defender Zoe Gatzimos argued that the witnesses in the Nissan were facing away from Williams and the rest of the group of people, making it difficult to identify the shooter. There was city POD footage of the entire shooting, but Sorrentino said it was grainy and doesn't show anyone's face.
William's next court date is July 28 in Skokie. Judge Hock also ordered Williams to have no contact with the victim or any of the witnesses.
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