Bail denied for man accused of shooting at police officers in Little Village
Walter Dennard, 19, did not appear at a hearing Tuesday; he was still hospitalized with two gunshot wounds suffered when the officers returned fire Sunday afternoon.
Bail was denied Tuesday for a man charged with trying to kill two police officers when he allegedly opened fire while fleeing after they tried to question him Sunday afternoon in Little Village.
Walter Dennard, 19, remained hospitalized with two gunshot wounds to his left leg suffered when the officers returned fire, according to testimony by a Chicago police officer.
Dennard faces two counts of attempted murder of a police officer, Chicago police said.
The on-duty officers had tried to stop Dennard about 3:15 p.m. Sunday as he stood in the 2100 block of South Washtenaw Avenue, Cook County prosecutors said. The officers suspected he was carrying a handgun in the front pocket of his hooded sweatshirt, Cook County prosecutors said in court.
Dennard then allegedly crossed the street directly in front the officers while holding the object in his pocket.
The officer identified themselves and were wearing black bulletproof vests with “police” written on them when they approached Dennard and told him to stop, prosecutors said. Instead he “quickened his pace,” Assistant States Attorney James Murphy said.
Officers told him to stop again and Dennard began to run while also trying to pull the gun out of his pocket, eventually turning toward the officers and firing at them as he ran, Murphy said. One officer returned fire, then both pursed Dennard as he ran down another street, down an alley and through a gangway, firing at officers several more times, Murphy said.
Dennard eventually was taken into custody when the officers, following a blood trail, found him hiding on the rear porch of a home in the 2100 block of South California, authorities said. He told officers he had thrown the gun on a roof; the gun, recovered later, was a 9 mm Smith & Wesson handgun with a 16-round capacity and two live rounds in the magazine. Another round was jammed, according to Murphy.
Ballistics testing later matched the gun to shell casings found along the route Dennard fled, Murphy said, and the police officers’ account of the shooting matched testimony by two witness who saw part of the pursuit and surveillance cameras in the area.
Dennard is on probation, Murphy said, for a 2019 attempted burglary conviction.
Judge Mary Marubio ordered Dennard held without bail and set his next hearing for Monday.