By Steve Almasy and Mayra Cuevas, CNN
A Chicago man has been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of a prominent Cook County judge, police said Wednesday.
Joshua Smith, 37, was also charged with attempted first-degree murder and obstruction.
Judge Raymond Myles, 66, was killed Monday outside his home and a 52-year-old woman he was with was wounded.
(Raymond Myles, a judge who was involved in several high-profile cases in Chicago, was shot and killed outside of his home. Courtesy of CBS Evening News and YouTube)
Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples said video from home surveillance systems played a key role in tracking down a car believed to be used in the attempted robbery.
Cameras caught a license plate of the vehicle, she said.
Case remains open
(Slain Chicago Judge Remembered. Courtesy of CBS Chicago and YouTube)
Ballistics evidence tied the gun in the Myles case to a robbery in January in which one person was shot.
“It underscores the very real problem of illegal guns that are used over and over to cause havoc in some of our communities,” Staples said.
The investigation is “very open, active and ongoing,” Staples said.
Police do not suspect the owner of the car was involved in the case, she said.
Prominent cases
Myles was involved in the case against William Balfour, who was convicted of killing singer and actress Jennifer Hudson’s mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew.
The judge was also involved in the case of the 1993 massacre at a Brown’s Chicken fast food restaurant in Palatine, Illinois, CNN affiliate WGN reported.
Police said Tuesday the woman, whom they have not identified, was walking out of a home around 5 a.m. when she encountered the gunman.
(Chicago investigators are looking for a motive in a deadly shooting of a criminal court judge, Raymond Myles. The gunman killed the judge outside his home. A woman was also shot and taken to the hospital in serious condition. Courtesy of CBS This Morning and YouTube)
“Upon hearing the commotion and the gunshot, Judge Myles exited his residence to investigate,” Staples said. Myles and the shooter exchanged words, and the gunman shot Myles multiple times.
Staples said the two victims were known to regularly leave the home around 5 a.m.
“They would tend to go work out every morning together,” Staples said.
CNN affiliate WLS reported Wednesday the woman is in stable condition.
CNN’s Rosa Flores and Holly Yan contributed to this report.
Original post http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/12/us/chicago-judge-killed-arrest/
