Courthouse Beating of Man Charged With Murdering 11-year-old Takiya Holmes Captured on Video

The man charged with fatally shooting an 11-year-old girl in Chicago last weekend was pummeled by an inmate in a Cook County courthouse ahead of his bond hearing Wednesday, surveillance footage shows.

Antwan C. Jones, 19, was charged with the murder of Takiya Holmes after turning himself in late Tuesday evening, according to police. He was ordered held without bond at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Wednesday afternoon.

Takiya was sitting in the backseat of her family’s minivan Saturday around 7:40 p.m. on the city’s South Side in the Parkway Gardens neighborhood.

According authorities, Jones lived in an apartment complex in the neighborhood and saw three people he thought "didn't belong in the area." He went outside with a handgun and opened fire but missed. One of those bullets pierced the van Takiya was riding in and struck her in the head, police said.

In the brief video, which the Cook County Sheriff’s Office provided to NBC 5 Thursday, Jones is seen seated and slumped over, apparently handcuffed to the arm of a chair. Wearing jeans, work boots and a dark red jacket, he looks to be sleeping or resting his eyes. Two men in street clothes are standing near him when another wearing a tan Department of Corrections jumpsuit steps into frame, the video shows.

The sheriff’s office identified the inmate in the video as Renard Williams, 24, who is also charged with murder and has been held at the county jail since August on additional charges. He was not wearing restraints because he had just appeared in bond court, the sheriff’s department confirmed.

In the video, Williams gains momentum toward the apparently unwitting Jones and uppercuts him in the face before following with a blow to the left side of his head, the video shows. Williams towers over Jones and continues to get in several more punches until a sheriff’s deputy steps in and restrains him, the footage shows.

The seven-second clip ends abruptly as the deputy wraps his arms around Williams’ waist.

It is unclear if Williams knew Jones was charged with murdering Holmes, a department spokesperson said.

Jones refused to press criminal charges against Williams.

Takiya was one of three children shot since Saturday. A 12-year-old girl was also fatally wounded in a shooting just minutes after Takiya was shot. On Tuesday, a 2-year-old boy was killed in a shooting on the city's West Side.

Contact Us