Two suspects in the Brown’s Chicken Massacre in Palatine appeared before Myles shortly after they were arrested in 2002. James Degorski and Juan Luna were both eventually convicted of killing seven people at a suburban restaurant in 1993. That case, unsolved for nearly a decade, resulted in life sentences for both Degorski and Luna.
And just two years ago the judge was attacked after getting into a fender bender on the South Side. The other driver punched the judge in the face breaking his nose.
Myles’s attacker, 22-year-old Deandre Hudson, was arrested 10 months later and is still awaiting trial.
Monday afternoon, police continued to investigate and had a portion of the 9400 block of Forest Avenue closed. Most of the homes on the block and nearby had well-manicured lawns and neighbors described it as a quiet neighborhood that is home to many judges, police officers and lawyers.
Janis Walker, 57, was caring for her 95-year-old mother on the 9300 block of Forest Avenue when she said she heard gunshots and called the police.
“I heard three distinct shots and called 911,” Walker said. Although she now lives in downstate Champaign where she works as a health prevention specialist, Walker said she was raised in the neighborhood and that her mother has lived on Forest Avenue for 60 years. “West Chesterfield was always a nice, middle class African-American neighborhood. There is a new element moving in and it’s not good.”
A mail carrier walking her route said that she has been delivering mail to Myles for 20 years had to hold back tears when she learned about the shooting, describing him as a “very kind man.”
Another man, a 72-year-old retired longshoreman who only wanted to go by his first name of Ron, said he’s lived on the 9300 block his entire life said Myles was a very unassuming man.
“I’ve seen him for years and never knew he was a judge.”
Whether or not the murder of Myles is proved to be a random act or a planned hit is still under investigation but one thing seems certain: In Chicago, no one is exempt from gun violence.
Article Appeared @http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2017/04/10/first-judge-killed-in-chicago-history-by-gun-violence-he-fought.html