Stefano Esposito and Annie Sweeney, The Chicago Sun-Times; Contributing: Frank Main
Copyright 2006 Chicago Sun-Times, Inc.
All Rights Reserved
Investigators looking into a bizarre shooting that slightly injured three Cook County Jail inmates are considering whether the inmates wounded themselves -- after somehow smuggling in the gun -- so they could be hospitalized and then escape, sources said Thursday.
That’s one of the theories being explored as investigators try to piece together not only how Wednesday night’s shooting took place, but why, a law enforcement source said.
Investigators also want to know why there were three inmates in the Division 11 maximum-security cell where the shooting happened when there only should have been two, said Bill Cunningham, a spokesman for the Cook County sheriff’s office, which runs the jail.
“It was not over capacity, and so there should not have been three in a cell,” Cunningham said.
It remained unclear how the gun -- a .32-caliber snub-nosed revolver -- ended up inside the jail, or who shot whom.
Authorities said they couldn’t recall another incident in which a county jail inmate shot another prisoner.
“It’s just too early in the investigation to rule in or rule out anything,” Cunningham said.
The incident comes at a particularly bad time for Sheriff Michael Sheahan. The man he’d like to see succeed him, chief of staff Tom Dart, is in the midst of an election battle.
‘IT’S JUST A THEORY’
And Wednesday’s incident follows a series of embarrassing security lapses at the jail, including last June’s escape of inmate Randy Rencher, who walked out wearing a jail guard uniform and then allegedly went on a robbery spree. Authorities also are investigating how an accused murderer ordered held without bail was accidentally released from the jail last month.
Wednesday’s shooting happened about 10:30 p.m., shortly after a jail guard had taken a final head count for the night and had gone to turn in some paperwork at a nearby office. The officer noticed smoke in the tier’s day room and then traced the smoke back to a cell, where he found the three wounded inmates.
None was seriously hurt, and that’s partly why investigators are considering the hospital escape theory. “It’s just a theory,” the law enforcement source said.
Investigators found the gun on the floor of the cell, and a towel, which appeared to have been used to muffle the sound of gunshots, the sheriff’s office said.
Investigators were continuing to try to interview all three inmates, said Sally Daly, a spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.
NONE REPORTEDLY SAW SHOOTER
Daly said she couldn’t discuss what the inmates might have said. She also said the inmates have been swabbed to check for gunshot residue, to see who might have fired the gun. Investigators said they think the lock on the cell where the shooting took place was intentionally jammed by one or more of the inmates.
Other inmates in the tier reported hearing a commotion or gunshots Wednesday night, but none reported seeing the shooter, Cunningham said.
‘IT BLEW ME AWAY’
The wounded inmates are all believed to be gang members, but it was unclear if that played a role in the incident, Daly said.
The inmates were identified as:
- Gregory Sherman, 27, of Chicago. He has been convicted of armed robbery, unlawful use of a weapon and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He was awaiting sentencing. He suffered a graze wound to his elbow.
- Terry Martin, 28, of Dolton. He is being held in the jail, charged with first-degree murder, aggravated kidnapping, armed robbery and aggravated unlawful restraint. He was shot in the upper calf.
- Lorenzo Evans, 27, of Chicago. He is being held on first-degree murder and domestic battery charges. He was shot in his left thigh.
All three were treated at area hospitals and then released back to the jail.
Martin’s family had visited him as recently as last Friday, his brother said.
“He was cool to me,” said Tracey Martin, 29. “He was normal as usual.”
Tracey Martin said his brother was due in court Tuesday for an appearance. “It blew me away,’' Martin said of the shooting. “It could have been much worse. Who knows what could have happened?”
As for how the gun got inside the jail, Tracey Martin said he was looking for answers, too. “I want to know, too,’' he said. “That’s 20 questions on that one [thing] right there.’'
OTHER INCIDENTS AT THE JAIL:
- Last month -- A correctional officer was convicted of smuggling a loaded handgun and a folding knife, with a four-inch blade, into Division 11 of the jail. Prosecutors said Kenyatta Sanders, 43, squeezed through a small gap separating a security gate and a metal detector. Prosecutors weren’t required to prove why Sanders brought in the weapons, but they suspect she was trying to free her boyfriend, an inmate in the jail. Sanders’ attorneys said she had forgotten she had the banned items in her bag.
- June 27, 2005 -- Randy Rencher, a convicted rapist who was in Cook County Jail on drug and gun charges, escaped while on his regular duty of lunch delivery, allegedly by bribing a jail guard to give him a uniform. Rencher became the subject of a national manhunt after he walked out of jail by donning a jail guard’s uniform. Shortly after, he allegedly began a spree of bank robberies. Three jail workers have been disciplined.
- June 2005 -- A murder-for-hire plot was exposed during a Cook County sheriff’s investigation that implicated 12 current and former correctional officers in a jailhouse smuggling ring. During the probe, a drug dealer asked a sheriff’s informant to kill two people. The plot was unveiled during a six-month probe of smuggling of drugs, cell phones and money into Division 10 of the sprawling jail complex near 26th and California.
- Feb. 4, 1995 -- Four guards and 21 inmates were hurt, none seriously, after inmates were told that three men would share each cell. An officer stabbed in the chest was saved from serious injury by a protective vest.
- Nov. 26, 1994 -- Five inmates were injured in the second melee in four days among rival gangs. Officials said the fights were not related.
- Sept. 14, 1994 -- Two inmates were stabbed in a fight between rival gangs over who would use the showers first.
- Oct. 7, 1992 -- One prisoner was stabbed to death and another seriously wounded in a gang-related fight.
- Aug. 18, 1992 -- Forty-four inmates and 15 guards were injured in a riot by inmates protesting a lockdown. Prisoners used garbage cans and chairs to battle guards in riot gear.