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Dying Man Identified His Killers in Ambulance to Hospital, Prosecutors Say

By Erica Demarest | October 2, 2015 5:22am
 Jermaine Wright, 33, was charged with first-degree murder.
Jermaine Wright, 33, was charged with first-degree murder.
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DNAinfo; Cook County Sheriff's Office

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A man who returned to Chicago for a school reunion was shot dead after fighting with a man about a woman — but he was able to identify his killers before he died, prosecutors said.

Mortally wounded but conscious in an ambulance, Adrian Jeffries told paramedics that Jermaine Wright and his brother shot him, prosecutors said during Wright's bond hearing Thursday.

Wright, 33, was ordered held without bail after prosecutors told a judge he and his brother shot at  Jeffries, 44, on Aug. 29 — fatally striking Jeffries in his head, back and arm.

Police are still looking for Wright's brother.

Prosecutors said Jeffries was in Chicago for a school reunion when he got into an argument with Wright's brother over a woman.

The men eventually parted ways, prosecutors said, and a witness saw Wright's brother walk into a house and come back out with a gun before leaving in Wright's SUV.

Later that evening, several witnesses saw Jeffries eating with two men in the 6000 block of South Throop Street, Assistant State's Attorney Molly Donnelly said in court Thursday.

About 11 p.m., Jeffries began talking to Wright's brother's girlfriend, Donnelly said. The woman's parents lived on the street, and Wright's brother was sitting on their front porch at the time.

Wright pulled up in his SUV and asked his brother a question before the pair opened fire toward Jeffries, prosecutors said. Several witnesses ducked for cover, but Jeffries was shot in his arm, back and head, according to authorities.

As paramedics drove Jeffries to Mount Sinai Hospital, he identified Wright and his brother as the shooters, Donnelly said. Jeffries was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Two witnesses identified Wright and his brother in photo arrays, prosecutors said. Wright's brother's cellphone and several 9mm shell casings were recovered at the scene.

After the shooting, Wright drove off in his SUV, while his brother ran away, Donnelly said.

Wright was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree murder.

Wright is on parole for armed robbery and attempted armed robbery, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections. He was sentenced in 2005 to 20 years in prison and released on parole in 2013, prison records show.

Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. on Thursday ordered Wright held without bail.

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