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U of C graduate minding his own business, tried to escape and struggled with suspect before being fatally shot, prosecutors said
By DEANESE WILLIAMS-HARRIS
CHICAGO TRIBUNE | NOV 13, 2021 AT 4:38 PM
A Chicago man was denied bail Saturday in the slaying of Shaoxiong Dennis Zheng, a recent University of Chicago graduate who was fatally shot Tuesday. ... Alton Spann, 19, of the 6500 block of South Maryland Avenue, was charged with first-degree murder, armed robbery and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon, police said earlier. ... Saturday afternoon, Cook County Judge Barbara Dawkins ordered Spann held without bail during a hearing broadcast live on Youtube after prosecutors detailed Zhengs last moments.
On Nov. 9, at about 1:50 p.m., Zheng was walking home from campus minding his own business, in the 900 block of East 54th Place when he was confronted by Spann, who arrived in a stolen Ford Mustang, Asst. States Atty. Ashley Romito said in court. ... That Mustang was reported stolen from Markham on Nov. 3, according to police. It was tracked by POD cameras, license plate readers, and private video surveillance cameras.
Zheng, who was carrying a bag, later determined to be holding a laptop computer, refused to give up his belongings when Spann, who grabbed the larger of two guns, demanded them, said Romito. ... The victim struggled with the offender and tried to escape, Romito said. ... Witnesses peering out of windows near the scene saw Zheng fall to the ground as Spann stood over him, pointing a gun.
One of those witnesses happened to be
a doctor who tried to save Zhengs life. ... Zheng died of a gunshot wound to the arm, according to the Cook County medical examiners office, which said Zheng was pronounced dead less than an hour after the shooting, at 2:13 p.m. at the University of Chicago Medical Center. His death was ruled a homicide.
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Zheng graduated from the university with a masters degree in statistics this year after attending the University of Hong Kong for his undergraduate education,
according to his LinkedIn page.
Spann is due back in court on Nov. 19.
Deanese Williams-Harris
Chicago Tribune
CONTACT DAWilliams@chicagotribune.com
Deanese "Neacy" Williams-Harris was hired in 2007, and now works on the Crime & Justice desk. She is an alumna of Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and the University of Illinois at Springfield, but her greatest accomplishment is her two sons, Mustafa and Niall. She also is a 16-year survivor of multiple sclerosis.