COOK COUNTY CRIMINAL COURTHOUSE — A University Village man has been charged in the January murder of a Vietnam War veteran.
The victim, 62-year-old Robert Howard Jr., got into a fight with his neighbor on Jan. 26 after Howard called 911 and had police break up the neighbor's loud party, prosecutors said.
One of the neighbor's guests, 22-year-old Kevin Mason, beat Howard with a gun before shooting Howard once in the abdomen and twice in the back of the head, Assistant State's Attorney April Gonzales said during a bond hearing Friday.
Mason allegedly told a witness he shot Howard in the stomach and then "had to finish him off," Gonzales said.
According to prosecutors, Howard called 911 on Jan. 26 to report a loud party at the apartment next to his. People were drinking and smoking in the hallway, prosecutors said, and police broke up the party — only to have guests return once the officers were gone.
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Howard and the neighbor hosting the party had had an ongoing dispute, Gonzales said.
The pair got into an argument in the hallway and began to scuffle after the neighbor punched Howard in the face, prosecutors said. Meanwhile, Mason and two other guests had been buzzed back into the building.
At one point, Howard fell to the ground, Gonzales said. The neighbor allegedly opened a stairwell door to let Mason and the other guests into the hall.
That's when Mason pulled a gun and attacked Howard, who was not armed, prosecutors said. Howard was allegedly beaten before being shot three times. He later died.
According to authorities, three witnesses saw the attack. Police recovered a .9 mm handgun in a laundry room at the apartment complex. Bullets matched the shell casings found on the scene, Gonzales said.
Mason, of the 1300 block of South Blue Island Avenue, is charged with first-degree murder.
Cook County Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. on Friday ordered Mason held without bail.
"You are violent. You pose a threat," the judge told Mason.
Last month, a Maxwell Street woman also was charged in connection with Howard's death.
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