A Near West Side man was ordered held without bail after he was charged with fatally shooting a man and wounding another in the West Humboldt Park neighborhood in August.
Patrick Holmes, 26, is charged with first-degree murder in the killing Hughvon Polk, 24, of the 2800 block of West Flournoy Street, in the 1200 block of North Keeler Avenue on Aug. 24.
About 8:30 p.m. that day, Polk was driving around in a red van with two friends when they decided to stop at a liquor store to buy cigarettes. It was the day after Polk’s 24th birthday, said Assistant State’s Attorney Danny Hanichak.
After buying the cigarettes, the group got back into the van and stopped at a red light in the in the 1200 block of North Keeler. Holmes, who had been standing on the corner, walked up to the driver’s side of the van, pulled a gun from his waistband and fired numerous times directly into the vehicle, Hanichak said.
Polk began driving forward but lost consciousness, slumped over the wheel of the van and crashed into several parked cars, Hanichak said. He suffered three gunshot wounds to the chest and was taken in critical condition to Mount Sinai Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
One of the passengers, a 21-year-old man, was shot in the finger. The other passenger escaped without injury, Hanichak said.
The liquor store nearby had both exterior and interior cameras, and its exterior cameras captured the shooting and showed what Holmes was wearing. Interior camera images showed that prior to the shooting, Holmes had been inside the liquor store, Hanichak said.
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Detectives used the images to find a witness on scene who identified Holmes and provided his nickname to police. Police used the information to find mugshots of Holmes, who had been arrested in the area before, Hanichak said. Holmes was then identified by additional witnesses, and police arrested him about 1:03 p.m. Thursday in the 1000 block of North Keeler.
Holmes, who records show lives at the Pacific Garden Mission, 1458 S. Canal St., has three felony convictions.
In bond court Saturday, Cook County Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Holmes held without bail. He is due back in court Monday.