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Young Dad Gunned Down in March Survived Murder Attempt in 2010: Officials

 Victor Chatmon, 23, (l.) was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Joseph Burdine (r.).
Victor Chatmon, 23, (l.) was charged with first-degree murder in the death of Joseph Burdine (r.).
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Chicago Police Department; Family

COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The young father who was gunned down near his Ashburn home last month had survived a murder attempt in 2010, prosecutors said Wednesday.

Joseph Burdine, 24, was killed just after 11 a.m. on March 19 as he headed to a bus stop on his way to work at Ultra Foods, family and police said. Burdine was shot multiple times in the 7900 block of South Kedzie Avenue and pronounced dead on the scene.

Prosecutors this week charged Victor Chatmon, 23, with first-degree murder in the daytime attack.

Burdine had left home that morning to buy a pack of cigarettes from a local corner store before heading to a bus stop on Kedzie Avenue, relatives said. According to prosecutors, surveillance footage shows Burdine walking from a liquor store at 7949 S. Kedzie Ave. toward 80th Street about 11:10 a.m.

Around the same time, two witnesses sitting in their living room heard a series of gunshots, Assistant State's Attorney Sarah Karr said during a bond hearing Wednesday.

From the window, one of the witnesses saw Chatmon shoot Burdine three to five times, striking him in the back and chest, Karr said. Both watched Chatmon run down an alley and eventually end up in a parking lot next to the liquor store where Burdine had been moments earlier, according to prosecutors.

Surveillance footage shows someone matching Chatmon's description running through the parking lot, Karr said.

A third witness, who'd been working in the area, saw Burdine try to run a few steps after being shot, and called 911, Karr said. Burdine was later pronounced dead on the scene.

Police issued an investigative alert for Chatmon, who lives in the 9200 block of South Cottage Grove Avenue. He was arrested Monday, charged with first-degree murder and subsequently held without bail.

Karr said Burdine was the target of a 2010 shooting that netted an aggravated battery conviction for Deandre Curtis, now 21. Curtis pleaded guilty to aggravated battery with a firearm in December 2014 and was sentenced to 15 years in prison.

Outside court that day, Burdine got into a fight with Curtis' relatives, who threatened Burdine for showing up to court, Karr said. On Jan. 27 of this year, Curtis withdrew his guilty plea; he now has a pending court date of April 28.

Karr said Curtis and Chatmon are members of the same gang.

The two witnesses who were in their living room positively identified Chatmon in a lineup, Karr said. Chatmon was previously convicted in 2011 of possession of a stolen vehicle and sentenced to three years in prison.

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