Fourth teen charged in Fenger beating
DERRION'S SLAYING | 14-year-old is last of 'main offenders,' cops say
With the arrest of a 14-year-old, Chicago Police say they now have charged the four "main offenders who struck the critical blows" that killed Fenger High School honors student Derrion Albert, but they're still looking for three others.
Police Supt. Jody Weis said the teen charged with two counts of first-degree murder struck Derrion in the face with his fist, "causing him to fall." The juvenile was placed at the scene of the fight by several witnesses who chose to come forward only after 18-year-old Eugene Bailey was charged, then released.
Charges remain against Silvonus Shannon, 19; Eric Carson, 16, and Eugene Riley, 18.
Unlike Shannon and Riley, who have given videotaped confessions, the 14-year-old gave no statement to police, authorities said.
"It wasn't until Bailey was charged that this community began reaching out to police to assist in the investigation. Until that moment, there was nothing but silence," Weis told a City Hall news conference.
"There were people out there who knew who the right person was, and when they recognized that the wrong person had been charged ... there was a sense of urgency for people to come forward and say, 'This is not one of the killers.'
"I thank the community for coming forward. I do wish they would have come forward sooner," Weis said.
Police say the three suspects still on the loose "kicked or punched" 16-year-old Derrion and that kids at the brawl know who they are.
In addition to what Mayor Daley likes to call the "code of silence" among the community at large, Weis acknowledged that there is a strong sense among young people not to "snitch" on one another.
It's a sensitive subject the superintendent said he broaches "every time I get a chance" to talk to young people.
"I say, 'Listen, I know there's a strong force out there that's keeping you from coming forward. But please understand: Today's victims will be tomorrow's offenders,'" Weis said.
Arguing that most offenders and victims have criminal records, he said, "It's a circle of violence. If you really care about someone who you know may be involved in a crime, say something. Worse-case scenario, they might go to jail. But you may keep them alive. And you may protect them from ruining their life if they are offenders trying to ... extract some street justice."
The Sept. 24 beating death of Derrion was documented in a cell phone video that was replayed around the world and captured the attention of President Obama.
The president sent Attorney General Eric Holder and Education Secretary Arne Duncan, Chicago's former schools CEO, here to open what they called a "national dialogue" on juvenile crime.
Police have stressed that Derrion's death outside the Agape Community Center, 342 W. 111th St., was not gang-related. He was killed during a brawl between students from Altgeld and a neighborhood closer to Fenger known as the "Ville."