CHICAGO — The son of a Chicago Police officer was slain because his killers thought he was a rival gang member, though he was actually a university student with no gang history, police said.
Officers have charged Anthony Moore, 18, in the August slaying of Arshell Dennis III, a case that instantly became personal to police. Moore is being charged as an adult with first-degree murder and attempted murder, though he was 17 at the time of the slaying, police said.
On Aug. 14, Dennis was home for the weekend, visiting his sick mother and father, when he went to sit outside in the 2900 block of West 82nd Street with two friends, police said. Shortly after midnight, a group of people walked up and fired shots at the three.
Arshell Dennis III was an aspiring journalist.
Dennis was killed in the shooting and another man, 20, was wounded. The third friend was not hit by the gunfire.
Moore bragged about the shooting to friends afterward, telling people he'd killed a rival gang member, Area Central Cmdr. Brendan Deenihan said at a Friday news conference.
But Dennis and his friends were not gang members, Deenihan said. Dennis had been studying journalism at St. John's University in New York City. His father, Arshell Dennis II, is a veteran police officer and once patrolled with Eddie Johnson, now the police superintendent.
Detectives worked for months on the case, which hit home for many in the department who have feared violence coming to their own doorsteps, police said.
"Every officer in this department took his murder personally," Johnson said. "And we vowed not to stop until we found his killer."
Detectives uncovered video and phone data evidence and spoke to people who said Moore bragged to them about the killing, police said. Moore had a criminal history as a juvenile, police said, and was arrested six times within three months after turning 18 in November.
Johnson said he hoped the charges could bring some closure to Dennis' family. The victim's father, wearing his Chicago Police uniform, thanked those who had worked on the case but declined to comment otherwise.
"We are incredibly sorry for your loss," Johnson told Dennis' parents.
Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples said the charges made Friday "by far one of the best days in the last eight months."
Officers are continuing to investigate to find the other people who were at the shooting, Deenihan said.
The charges come just days after two Chicago Police officers were shot and wounded in Back of the Yards. The officers have been released from the hospital and are recovering.
"Over the last few days, we have been painfully reminded of the dangers police officers face every day as part of their service," Johnson said.
But what every officer fears even more is that, that danger will come home as it did in the Dennis case, Johnson said.
The superintendent called on leaders in the city and state to create "common sense" gun laws that will put repeat gun offenders behind bars for longer. He also called for there to be more mentoring opportunities for Chicago's kids.
We promised we'd never stop & we didn't. Murderer of Police Officer Arshell Dennis' son from last year has been charged. 18yo Anthony Moore pic.twitter.com/fPIOGOC9Rk
— Anthony Guglielmi (@AJGuglielmi) May 5, 2017
