Chicago police and Cook County prosecutors were locked in a tense dispute last week over whether to bring murder charges in the shooting that killed 7-year-old Serenity Broughton and wounded her 6-year-old sister, the Tribune has learned.
Prosecutors rejected felony charges against one suspect who was in custody Friday, saying the evidence against him had significant weaknesses, sources said. For one thing, a key witness — a relative of the girls who police believe had been involved in a dispute with at least one suspect — was not cooperating with authorities, according to the sources.
In addition, the suspect did not confess to police, sources said, and prosecutors believed there was not sufficient physical evidence or video evidence tying him directly to the shooting.
Police, saying their case was solid, at first took the extraordinary step of overriding prosecutors’ decision, intending to take the case to court without prosecutors’ blessing, sources said, but prosecutors indicated they would dismiss the case.
By Saturday morning, the standoff had reached an uneasy resolution.
Police backed away from their attempt to outflank prosecutors on the murder charge, in part because top brass wanted to avoid a public fight with Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx’s office, sources said. Instead, the suspect was to be kept in custody on a minor parole violation.
The Tribune is not naming the suspect because he has not been charged in the shooting. The man did not appear in court Saturday.
Police have said that other people, not in custody, may have also been involved.
A representative of the Illinois Department of Corrections, which handles parole violations, could not immediately be reached for comment.
A spokesperson for the Cook County state’s attorney’s office said there was agreement Saturday on the handling of the case.
“After a thorough review of the information presented to us by police, we concluded that the evidence was insufficient to meet our burden of proof to file murder charges at this time, and the police agreed with this decision,” said Tandra Simonton of Foxx’s office. “The Cook County state’s attorney’s office is committed to seeking justice for victims and will continue to work with the Chicago Police Department as they further investigate this crime.”
The Chicago Police Department declined to comment.
The case was the latest internal political fight between Chicago police and the state’s attorney’s office, which have pointed fingers at each other amid the city’s seemingly intractable gun violence.
And apart from the high-level political disputes, the decision on whether to bring felony charges can be a point of friction between rank-and-file cops and prosecutors, who in other parts of the system generally must work hand in hand.
Typically, to bring a felony case, police bring their investigative work to the Cook County state’s attorney’s felony review unit, where prosecutors examine the potential evidence and determine whether to bring charges, reject charges or mark the case as a “continuing investigation.”
If prosecutors reject felony charges, a police commander or deputy chief can approve a “felony override” — bringing the case to court without prosecutors’ approval. It is a relatively rare step, particularly for a charge as serious as the shooting of two children.
Serenity and her 6-year-old sister, Aubrey, were in a parked car near their maternal grandmother’s home in the 6200 block of West Grand Avenue in the Belmont Cragin community when they were shot Aug. 15, police have said.
There was chaos and confusion when the shots were fired, the girls’ paternal grandmother told the Tribune last month, but in the back seat of their parents’ vehicle, the sisters clung to one another.
“They were hugging,” said Regina Broughton, who is not the allegedly uncooperative relative. “When they separated and pulled apart, there was blood on both of them.”
Serenity had been shot in the chest, a bullet clipping her heart, the grandmother said. A bullet also hit Aubrey in the chest, but she survived. Broughton described Serenity as having a “fierce personality” and said she wanted to become a pilot when she grew up.
“Aubrey, the bullet ruptured her lung and she had to be intubated,” Regina Broughton said the day after the shooting. “Serenity’s injury was fatal. The bullet pierced her heart — she didn’t have a chance.”
On Saturday, Broughton said she was still “hoping and praying” that there’s a resolution to the case, noting how “police got so close” to solving it.
“I’m hoping that (someone) comes forward,” she said. “I just want justice for Serenity. … (My) heart is breaking. She didn’t deserve this.”
jgorner@chicagotribune.com
mcrepeau@chicagotribune.com
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