COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — Ladonna Curry and Audreianna McNeil may not have pulled the trigger in the murder of club promoter John "Fuzzy" Atkins, but they set him up in a robbery that turned fatal, prosecutors said.
"They last saw the victim in the gangway on his knees with his hands behind his back," Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Alexandra Molesky said Thursday when the two woman appeared in court to face the charges.
A Cook County judge ordered both women held on $500,000 bail.
Atkins, 33, was at the south suburban nightclub were he worked on Aug. 31, 2013, when Curry, 29, a girlfriend of his, and her friend McNeil, 25, convinced him to meet them later at 11714 S. Hale Street, Molesky said.
Atkins agreed and drove to meet them, Molesky said. He was in a gangway with the two woman when they suddenly got back into their car.
Two men, alleged co-offenders who have not yet been charged, jumped out from the shadows to rob Atkins in what prosecutors described as a set up.
He "was shot once in the back of the head in the gangway," Molesky said.
The two women returned to the club and waited to hear from one of their alleged accomplices, Molesky said. They all met at McNeil's home in Gary.
The man was driving Atkins' car and had his ID and cellphone, which he burned, prosecutors said. The two women then followed the man in their car when he drove Atkins' car to a vacant lot and set it on fire.
Police were called about 11:20 a.m. the next day to the 11700 block of South Hale Avenue, where they found his body.
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Atkins had been shot once in his head and was pronounced dead on the scene at 11:35 a.m., according to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office.
Atkins, known as "Fuzzy," was a popular club promoter who hosted parties at clubs for celebrities, including comedian Kevin Hart, boxer Floyd Mayweather and singer Chris Brown. He also made guest appearances to promote his shows on WPWX Power 92.
Atkins' mother, Zedda Atkins, said it was a career well-suited for her son, whom she described as very outgoing.
"Everybody knew about Fuzzy. Everybody loved him," she said. "He had the gift of gab, so he used it, and he used it well."
The youngest of her three children, Atkins could always make his mother laugh, she said. He also loved to dance, which he did pretty much "always," Atkins remembered.
"Even when he was a baby, oh honey, he could tear Michael Jackson's butt up," she said.
Since news of his death, family said there has been an outpouring of love from her son's friends. Zedda Atkins said she even got a call from comedian Katt Williams.
Family members said Atkins was last seen leaving Club Adrianna's Friday night in south suburban Markham after he hosted a party there. They said he was seen leaving the club with a woman, but they did not know who the woman was.
Atkins leaves behind a 6-year-old daughter, Johnneka, who was especially close with her father, family said.
Zedda Atkins said she wants whoever killed her son to "stand up" and stop being a "coward.
"I'm more hurt how they did it, not what they did, but how they did it," she said. "They shot him in the back of his head, and that's dirty."
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