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Mayor Daley and Police Superintendent Jody Weis on Tuesday credited a break in the infamous "code of silence" that normally intimidates neighborhood residents with helping to solve the ambush double-murder of a Chicago Police officer and a former CHA cop.

If not for some gutsy community residents - led by a man who kept quiet after allegedly being shot by the same suspect in June - 19-year-old Timothy Herring Jr. would still be on the street, Weis said.

Instead, Herring has been charged with the first-degree murder of evidence technician Michael Flisk and former CHA Police Officer Stephen Peters.

Herring allegedly shot the officers in broad daylight last Friday after burglarizing Peters' car and sneaking back to retrieve the loot he had allegedly stashed in the alley in the 8100 block of South Burnham where Peters kept his car in his mother's garage.

Police contend that Herring ambushed the officers because he was a convicted armed robber on parole who was determined to avoid going back to prison.

"We would not be where we are today without some courageous community members willing to give grand jury testimony and help us bring charges against this guy. . . . They are the true heroes on this," Weis said.

"I'm not gonna say we've successfully [and permanently] overcome the code of silence. But, I am extremely encouraged. . . . He [allegedly] tried to kill another human being in June. Now, that person has come forward. This is a great sign that people are starting to say, ‘We're sick and tired of this violence and, if we work with law enforcement, the community and law enforcement can make a tremendous, tremendous impact on this violence,' " Weis said.

Flisk and Peters were both armed, but neither man had time to draw his gun. In light of the ambush, Weis said he is re-examining the Chicago Police Department protocol that allows evidence technicians to respond to crime scenes alone, even in dangerous neighborhoods. Thirty years ago, evidence technicians responded with a partner, he said.

"Whenever we have a tragedy, we look at every protocol in the department. . . . But keep in mind, an evidence technician does not respond as first-responder. He doesn't go to an emergency scene. He was there processing a crime scene," he said.

"Should we have a police officer [accompany an evidence technician], perhaps in certain areas of the city or when there's some indication that there might be a threat- We want to do everything we can to keep our officers safe. An evidence technician is very attentive to detail. It's critical that he does a good job. And when you're that focused on your job, sometimes you do lose a little bit on your situational awareness."

In spite of the ongoing moratorium on the death penalty in Illinois, Daley said if convicted, Herring deserves to be put to death. A former state's attorney, the mayor has long been a death penalty proponent. He once proudly pronounced himself, "pro-death."

"I believe in the death penalty. I'll be very frank. I know there's been abuses in the past. Yes, there are. But under our system, we should really protect life. In situations like this - this should be a death penalty case," the mayor said, calling Friday's double-murder "beyond our understanding."

Daley and Weis also expressed outrage that Herring was sentenced to six years in prison for an armed robbery in 2007 but was released on parole in April after serving just half of that sentence.

Offenders convicted of committing crimes while carrying a gun should be disqualified from parole, both men said.

"If you use a weapon, it should be a mandatory sentence. It's insane that people are getting out early after they try to kill someone," Weis said.