A man shot an acquaintance once in the head and then fired eight more shots after his victim fell to the ground earlier this month on the Far South Side, prosecutors said Saturday.
Jameel Handcox, 20, was ordered held without bail Saturday on a first-degree murder charge in the March 9 slaying of Larry Hardin, 26.
That night, Handcox and another person came out of a gangway and approached Hardin, who was with a group of people on the 9200 block of South Ada Street, prosecutors said. Handcox, who knew Hardin, pulled out a .22-caliber pistol and shot Hardin once in the head, sending him to the ground, Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Enrique Abraham said in a bond hearing Saturday.
Handcox wasn’t done, Abraham said.
“Witnesses then saw this defendant stand over Larry Hardin and at close range shoot eight more bullets into the head of Larry Hardin,” Abraham said in court.
Witnesses recognized Handcox and later told investigators they knew him by the nickname “Tabool,” Abraham said.
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Hardin, of the 1400 block of East 90th Street, was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics, he said.
In the weeks since the shooting, police obtained a warrant for Handcox’s arrest after witnesses identified him in photo lineups as the shooter.
On March 20, a witness found a .22-caliber handgun in a gangway near the scene of the shooting, and ballistics testing confirmed the gun matched with shell casings previously found at the scene that came from the gun used to kill Hardin, Abraham said.
On that same day, an attorney representing Handcox called police and said his client would turn himself in March 25, according to court documents.
Judge James R. Brown ordered Handcox, of the 9100 block of South Justine Street, held without bail Saturday. He’s due back in court Monday.
Twitter: @NorthShoreTrib