CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A former Orr High School basketball star will remain in custody on charges of first-degree murder for shooting a man who had stolen his dog.
Frank Himel, an attorney representing Raekwon Drake, said it’s "ludicrous" that Cook County prosecutors think they have enough evidence to convict the 22-year old with murder. Himel argued that it was self-defense.
The incident occurred Saturday evening in Pilsen. According to Assistant State’s Attorney James Murphy, Drake was out walking his dog near his apartment around 6 p.m. when a group of approximately three men started to chase him around the block.
Drake allegedly then ran into his apartment, leaving the dog outside. Murphy said the group of men then took his dog, and starting to walk down the street in the 1800 block of South Paulina Street. It was then Drake came back outside with a gun and fired approximately four shots in their direction, Murphy said.
Prosecutors pointed out the victim, 26-year-old Martin Palafox, let the dog go before Drake and his girlfriend repeatedly punched and kicked Palafox as he was lying on the ground. Murphy said Drake then shot Palafox in the head. The prosecutor said Palafox was on his back with his arms raised prior to being shot.
As Drake and his girlfriend tried to run, the others in the group chased them and fired shots, the Sun-Times reported.
Drake’s girlfriend was hit in the right shoulder and taken to Stroger Hospital, where she was listed in good condition, police said. Drake was shot in the leg and remains hospitalized at Stroger Hospital.
Palafox, of Joliet, was taken to Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
The Sun Times reported various surveillance cameras captured the incident and a handgun was recovered from the window well of Drake’s apartment when a search warrant was executed.
Himel stressed that Drake has no criminal history and is “not someone that’s predisposed to this type of conduct.”
“Certainly there’s a chance he can be found guilty of first-degree murder, but more likely there’s a chance he could be found guilty of a lesser offense,” Himel said. “... And more likely than that, there’s going to be 12 people [in a jurors box] that are going to say, ‘At gunpoint, you tried to steal my dog from me, and so you getting shot is justified.’”
According to the Sun-Times, Judge Charles Beach said he understood that the theft of a pet could be traumatic, but he said it was “curious and perhaps odd” that Drake left his dog outside to be taken while he presumably went inside to retrieve his gun.
Drake was ordered to be held without bond. He is expected back in court July 30.
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