COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — The Jefferson Park man accused in a 2013 hit-and-run told a friend he kept driving after fatally injuring an 83-year-old man because he had drugs in the car and didn't think he'd get caught, prosecutors alleged Tuesday.
Rasheed Mujkovic, 22, was arrested on a warrant this week and charged in the brutal August 2013 hit-and-run that killed 83-year-old Norman David Esho.
Mujkovic had been driving a maroon Chevy Suburban about 6:20 p.m. Aug. 20, 2013, when he made a quick left turn from Devon Avenue onto California Avenue, heading south, Assistant State's Barry Quinn said during a bond hearing Tuesday.
Esho was crossing California at the time. Mujkovic struck Esho, who rolled under the SUV and was dragged 15-20 feet, Quinn said.
Esho was taken to Saint Francis Hospital and pronounced dead at 7 p.m.
Mujkovic kept driving, eventually hiding the Suburban in a friend's garage in the 6000 block of North Fairfield Avenue, prosecutors said. Police found the vehicle, which belonged to Mujkovic's child's mother, three days later thanks to an anonymous tip, Quinn said.
According to prosecutors, Mujkovic told a friend he kept driving after the incident because he had drugs in the car, no one had seen him and he wouldn't be caught. Mujkovic went on to say he was going to burn the Suburban and report it stolen, authorities said.
On Aug. 22, 2013, the day after the incident, the owner of the Suburban reported it stolen.
But someone who knew Mujkovic was in a parking lot near Devon and California when the hit-and-run occurred, Quinn said. The witness recognized the SUV, which had distinctive silver rims, and spotted Mujkovic behind the wheel, Quinn added.
A warrant was issued for Mujkovic's arrest in 2014, after a police investigation.
Mujkovic, of the 5600 block of West Goodman Street, was arrested this week and charged with fleeing the scene of an accident causing injury or death. Cook County Judge Donald Panarese Jr. ordered Mujkovic held in lieu of $150,000 bail.
Contributing: Josh McGhee
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