Frightening new details are emerging in the shooting death of a 7-year-old girl, and from the capture of one of the suspects in the shooting on a busy Chicago expressway.
Marion Lewis, 18, is currently in custody and facing a series of charges after he was shot and captured by Chicago police last week. Lewis is facing charges of first degree murder and attempted first degree murder, along with a host of other charges including aggravated vehicular hijacking and aggravated discharge of a firearm.
Here is a timeline of events that prosecutors say ultimately led to Lewis’ capture by Chicago police on the Eisenhower Expressway.
NBC 5 was not able to independently verify information
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April 18, 4:18 p.m.
It all started on April 18 when Lewis was allegedly involved in the shooting death of 7-year-old Jaslyn Adams, who was shot and killed while sitting in a McDonald’s drive-thru with her father.
According to a proffer provided by Cook County prosecutors, Adams and her father were sitting in the drive-thru when a vehicle pulled in behind them. The vehicle was allegedly being driven by Lewis, according to the Proffer.
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Two individuals, unidentified at this time, got out of the vehicle, pulled out weapons and began to fire at the back of the vehicle. Both gunmen then got back into the Audi that they were riding in, but as the victims’ car began to pull forward, both men got out of the vehicle and opened fire again.
They then got back in the car and fled the scene, according to prosecutors.
Jaslyn suffered three gunshot wounds, and she was transported to an area hospital, where she was pronounced dead. Her father, a 29-year-old man, was shot in the torso and suffered serious injuries. He has since been released from the hospital.
According to Cook County prosecutors, nearly four dozen shell casings were found at the McDonald’s, fired from two different weapons.
From there, Chicago police allege that the three men drove away from the scene in a silver Audi that had discolored damage to its side and a white paper license plate, clues that helped them track their whereabouts in the days ahead.
April 18, 2:30 p.m.
At approximately 2:30 p.m. on that Sunday, two hours before the shooting, Lewis allegedly posted a video to social media showing him driving an automobile, wearing a red Yankees hat and a black coat. The other two suspects in the case were also shown in the video.
One of the men was shown holding an AK-47 rifle, which police believe he later used in the shooting of Adams.
The video also captured another key piece of identifying information about the vehicle: images of its interior, which showed a speedometer that is a unique design appearing only in high-end Audi automobiles, according to the proffer.
April 18, 3 p.m.
Police also were able to pull video footage from a BP gas station approximately an hour and a half before the shooting, with Lewis allegedly pulling the Audi up to a gas pump. A person offered a business card to the driver of the vehicle, purportedly Lewis, offering to fix the damage to the side of the vehicle.
That witness says he later met the occupants of the Audi in a nearby alley and attempted to repair the damage to the vehicle, causing “distinctive discoloration” that enabled police to identify the vehicle later. He also gave the men a business card, which was later recovered from the apartment where police surveilled Lewis later that week.
Finally, Adams’ father was able to positively identify two of the three men involved in the shooting, including Lewis, whom he alleged had threatened him on social media in the past. Adams’ father also alleged that one of the gunmen belonged to the same gang as Lewis.
April 22
On Thursday, Lewis was tracked using his Facebook account to an apartment building in suburban Lombard. Officers went to that apartment and set up surveillance, finding the Audi with the distinctive damage and the white paper license plate.
While there, Chicago police officers observed the man leaving the building and entering a Dodge Durango. He had a tan backpack with him at the time he left the apartment.
Officers in unmarked vehicles attempted to box in the Durango, but Lewis allegedly rammed a parked car until he was able to escape the parking lot. He led police on a pursuit through numerous suburbs and onto the Eisenhower Expressway, according to police.
Lewis allegedly lost control of the vehicle between Manheim Road and 25th Avenue. He crashed into a concrete barrier, and sprinted across multiple lanes of traffic, still carrying the backpack, according to the proffer.
He then approached a Land Rover that was stopped in traffic. That vehicle was occupied by five people, including young children in child safety seats in the backseat.
Lewis allegedly began to pull on the door handle, and after being unable to open the door he pulled out a handgun and ordered the victims to get out of the Land Rover. He began to bang on the window with the weapon, then fired a single shot that caused the window to shatter.
He then pulled the driver out of the vehicle, but the occupants in the backseat, including two children in car seats, were unable to get out.
The police officer that had been pursuing Lewis heard the gunshot and drew his weapon. He made his way across the interstate, announced that he was a police officer, and demanded that Lewis show his hands.
The officer saw the weapon sitting along Lewis’ left thigh, and after he allegedly refused to comply, he tried to reach for the weapon and the gear shift, according to police.
The vehicle at that time began to roll backwards, and the officer found himself in the path of the open door. He then stepped back to avoid the oncoming door and fired five shots, striking Lewis in the shoulder, according to the proffer.
The officer reached into the vehicle, pulled the weapon out from underneath Lewis’ thigh, and Lewis then fell out of the car, where he was detained.
The weapon had 18 live rounds in the extended magazine and one in the chamber, according to police.
The tan backpack that Lewis was allegedly carrying at the time of the carjacking contained the same AK-47 that had been used in the Adams shooting, according to the proffer. The weapon he had fired at the Land Rover’s vehicle was also used in that shooting. He was also wearing the same Yankees cap that he had been wearing in the social media video posted hours before the young child’s shooting death.
Where Things Stand:
In addition to the raft of charges Lewis faces in the alleged carjacking on the Eisenhower, he also faces first-degree murder charges in connection with Adams’ death. According to prosecutors, he faces at least 18 different felony charges in the case, including three counts of attempted first-degree murder.
The two other suspects identified in the proffer as having fired weapons at the car where Adams was sitting with her father remain at large.
