Man charged with killing taxi driver on West Side Tyrese Bell Booking photo of Tyrese Bell (Photo from Chicago Police Department) By Jeremy Gorner and Carlos Sadovi Chicago Tribune contact the reporters Crime Homicide Chicago State University Chicago Police Department Police believe the suspect shot and killed the driver in an attempted robbery. A 23-year-old Chicago man who was on probation for a drug-related conviction has been charged with the killing of a taxi driver on the West Side on Thursday evening, police said. Tyrese Bell was charged with killing Chinedu Madu, 51, on the 1200 block of South Albany Avenue, police said. He also was charged with several counts of aggravated battery to police officers after getting into an altercation in which he scratched, bit and fought with Chicago Police Department detectives. Police said Bell lived in the 1200 block of Albany where the shooting occurred. Chicago shooting victims Chicago shooting victims In an interview with the Tribune, Madus wife said she was on the phone with her husband as he was taking a man from downtown Chicago to the Lawndale neighborhood on the West Side, though that mans identity wasnt clear. Police believe that Bell shot and killed Chinedu in an attempted robbery around 8:45 p.m., just 15 minutes after Chinedu had promised to hurry home to his wife and their 5-year-old son. Records show that Bell has been convicted at least five times since 2009. He currently was on mandatory supervision after pleading guilty Oct. 27 to possession of a controlled substance. Judge Evelyn Clay sentenced him to 18 months in prison and ordered one year of mandatory supervision. He was given 280 days of credit for time served at the Cook County Jail while awaiting trial. lRelated More North Lawndale crime » Breaking News More North Lawndale crime » See all related 8 Most of the convictions were for drug possession charges, and in each case he was given credit for time served in Cook County Jail. In 2009, he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received four years in prison but was given 308 days of time served credit at the Cook County Jail. Bell turns 24 Sunday, according to records. He had been expected to appear in bond court Sunday, but his hearing was rescheduled for Monday. Vivian Madu had always worried when her husband was out in his cab at night. Thursday evening, she was particularly concerned. It was snowing and the roads were bad, but her husband Chinedu insisted on picking up his cab. He left home around 5:30 p.m., the last time Madu would see him. Chicago Under the Gun Chicago Under the Gun We waited for him, Madu told the Tribune on Friday. I called him. I said, ‘Where are you?’ He said he’s on his way. I just told him to come home, that’s it. Officers recovered two shell casings from the back seat of the cab. They appear to match a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun found in a building near Roosevelt and Albany that the gunman was seen running into. A camera inside the cab had been damaged, police said. By Friday morning, police had tracked down Bell and arrested him. Its unclear if the robber got away with anything. In the cab, there was less than $100 visible, along with Chinedus phone and backpack, police said. Chinedu was in the habit of stowing his earnings in the backpack, his wife said. cComments Its horrifying in so many ways. For the sake of Chicago Taxi Drivers, I hope this will also result in the total cessation of taxi service to areas where crimes like this occur. RIP. Mr. Madu. The Madu family is in my prayers. William Favre Slater III at 10:20 PM January 11, 2015 Add a comment See all comments 37 I always tell him, you have to drop your money at home, or put it in the bank and leave the backpack at home, she said as she sat in her apartment with her son, also named Chinedu. Madu, 41, said she and her husband were both born in Nigeria. He moved to Chicago 15 years ago and worked as a cabbie for the last 10 years. The two knew each other from Nigeria and were married seven years ago. Madu said she is a pharmacy student at Chicago State University and Chinedu was the breadwinner of the family. Crime in Chicago: Explore your community Crime in Chicago: Explore your community Chinedu leased a cab from Chicago Carriage and drove it up to 12 hours a day during the week, slightly shorter hours during the weekends when hed work nights and come back early in the morning. During the week, he’d end his days at 7 p.m. or 9 p.m. On Thursday evening, Chinedu got a call from work saying his cab was ready to pick up after undergoing an inspection. Madu said she suggested he stay home because it was snowing and pick up the cab Friday. But Chinedu called a friend to drive him to his cab. She thought he was going to just pick up the cab and come home, but he apparently decided to pick up some customers. An hour after he called her husband, Madu was told by the cab company that the driver of her husbands cab had been shot and taken to Mount Sinai Hospital. I had to go there, she said. That was it. “He loved music. He loved to watch movies and play with his boy, Madu said. He was a good man, a caring person. A caring father. Very jovial. Very friendly. Bell has been on mandatory supervision after pleading guilty on Oct. 27 to possession of a controlled substance. Judge Evelyn Clay sentenced him to 18 months in state prison and ordered him on one year of mandatory supervision. He was given 280 days of credit for time served at the Cook County Jail while awaiting trial. Most of Bells convictions were for drug possession charges and in each case he was given credit for time served in the jail. In 2009, his he pleaded guilty to armed robbery and received four years in state prison but was also given 308 days of time served credit at the Cook County Jail. Tribune reporters Rosemary Regina Sobol and Alexandra Chachkevitch contributed. Copyright © 2015, Chicago Tribune
Posted on: Mon, 12 Jan 2015 09:52:55 +0000
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