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Englewood Teen Gunned Down After Heated Dice Game, Prosecutors Say

 Garland Benson, 26, was charged with first-degree murder.
Garland Benson, 26, was charged with first-degree murder.
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DNAinfo; Chicago Police Department

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A West Englewood man who felt he was cheated during a dice game went to his opponent's house and opened fire on a porch full of people, prosecutors said Monday.

The man who was killed — Alvin Vincent Randolph, 19 — was not the intended target, Assistant State's Attorney Justin Goldfarb said during a bond hearing Monday.

It all started on May 13 when Garland Benson, 26, was playing dice with at least two other people, prosecutors said. A fight broke out when Benson and an accomplice accused a third person of cheating, according to Goldfarb.

The next day, someone broke the accomplice's windows, authorities said. Prosecutors didn't name the accomplice during a brief hearing Monday.

On the afternoon of May 14, Benson, the accomplice and several others went to the home of the man they accused of cheating — hoping to intimidate him, Goldfarb said. The group eventually left, and one of Benson's friends allegedly tried to mediate the argument.

Just before 7:30 p.m., Benson, his accomplice and several others returned to the man's house in the 6400 block of South Damen Avenue, prosecutors said. Three men in a van allegedly rode alongside the group.

The man accused of cheating was sitting on the front porch with five or six relatives and friends, Goldfarb said.

Benson and his accomplice pulled guns and began shooting at the group, prosecutors said. At the same time, another group of people approached the porch, and two members of that group also pulled guns and opened fire, Goldfarb added.

Randolph, a 19-year-old friend of the man accused of cheating, was shot twice in the back of his head and once in his leg, authorities said.

According to the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, Randolph was pronounced dead at 8:09 p.m at Stroger Hospital.

Benson, who lived in the 6200 block of South Seeley Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder after he was positively identified as a shooter by several witnesses.

On Monday, Cook County Judge Peggy Chiampas ordered Benson held without bail.

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