Years after a quadruple shooting inside a Chatham home left 14-year-old Amere Deese dead alongside two other men, authorities have charged a second suspect in the killings.
Chicago police announced Thursday that a 16-year-old boy had been charged with three counts of murder, one count of attempted murder and one count of armed robbery among other felonies. The February 2024 shooting, which took place at the intersection of 80th Street and South Vincennes Avenue, wounded a fourth victim, a 16-year-old boy. The surviving victim helped to identify the first suspect, 16-year-old Antonio Velasco.
Police arrested the second suspect in the killings Wednesday 67th Street and South Loomis Boulevard in Englewood, according to a news release. Because he was 13 at the time of the shooting, he was set to appear in juvenile court Thursday morning.
Police arrested Velasco, now 18, in Hazel Crest about a month after the homicides. He was charged with killing Deese, 20-year-old Ladeverett West-Ringgold and Randy Graham, 36, in what authorities described as an altercation among a group of friends.
Cynthia Jones, Deese’s grandmother, told the Tribune shortly after his death that her grandson had struggled in the years after his mother had died.
“He never was a mean kid but when his mom passed, he put his shell on,” she said.
He’d been arrested as a passenger in a stolen vehicle and called her three days into his detention, apologizing for his actions and pledging to do better.
With time and support from his family and probation officer, Jones said “he started to open up and realize we were here for him.” At the time of the shooting, he had returned to a youth mentorship and guidance program after a long hiatus and started attending school more, she added.
At the time of Velasco’s arrest, Jones said she had “no idea what could have happened to cause this young man to want to do what he did.”
Cook County court records show Velasco was indicted for the killings in April 2024 and is now facing 43 counts ranging from armed robbery to aggravated battery to murder. He’s next set to appear in court July 23.
