Prosecutors have dropped murder charges against a woman and her 14-year-old son who was ordered by his mother to shoot a man at a Chicago restaurant, police say.
According to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, Carlishia Hood, 35, and her 14-year-old son have been freed “in light of emerging evidence,” causing charges to be dropped against them.
“Based upon the facts, evidence, and the law we are unable to meet our burden of proof in the prosecution of these cases,” reads a statement from the attorney’s office.
Before the charges were dropped, Hood and her son were facing murder charges for the incident that took place at a Maxwell Street Express in Chicago’s Southwest Side.
At the time, authorities said Hood was involved in a verbal altercation with Jeremy Brown, 32, while waiting in line for food at the restaurant. She then messaged her son and told him to come to the establishment after the heated exchange turned physical.
That’s when things took a turn for the worst. Police say Brown punched Hood, causing her son to pull out a gun and shoot Brown in the back, according to a report in the Chicago Sun-Times.
The teenager continued to shoot at Brown as he attempted to flee the scene. Hood and her son followed him into the restaurant’s parking lot where she instructed her son to continue shooting at Brown until he was dead.
“After the teen stopped shooting at Brown, his mother allegedly told him to shoot Brown’s girlfriend, who authorities said encouraged Brown during the earlier altercation,” reads an NBC Chicago report. “Prosecutors also reportedly said Hood tried to grab the gun herself before her son shoved her off and the two fled the scene.”
Brown succumbed to gunshot wounds and was pronounced dead.
“If you say one more thing, I’m going to knock you out,” Brown says in surveillance video obtained by police.
Hood and her son turned themselves into police Wednesday. They were arrested and charged with first-degree murder. Those charges have since been dropped.
