A Gary man tried to stop the armed robbery of a cell phone store in South Holland this week before being shot to death, prosecutors said Friday at a court hearing for two brothers from Chicago charged with the man’s murder.
Cook County Judge Darron Bowden denied bail at the Markham courthouse to alleged gunman DeAngelo Parker, 27, and set bail at $750,000 for co-defendant Floyd Bell, 24, the alleged getaway driver.
The two men are charged with the first-degree murder of Christopher Lloyd and the armed robbery of the Boost Mobile Store, 1022 E. 162nd St., prosecutors said.
A third man involved in the incident, whom authorities haven’t identified, remains at large, prosecutors said.
Lloyd, a 45-year-old father of three, was shot when he tried to wrest the gun from Parker in the store’s backroom, prosecutors said.
Members of Lloyd’s family declined to comment Friday after Parker and Bell’s court appearance.
Parker, who wore a mask and brandished a gun, and the unidentified man entered the cell phone store about 2 p.m. Tuesday and announced the robbery, prosecutors said. They emptied the cash register before ordering an employee and several customers into the backroom, where they told the store clerk to open a safe.
Parker and the second man fled the store after the shooting, prosecutors said.
Lloyd was rushed to Ingalls Memorial Hospital in Harvey and pronounced dead, authorities said.
Officers found Parker a short time after the robbery hiding about a block away from the store next to a garbage can that contained a handgun and sweatshirt, prosecutors said.
Parker, who appeared to have blood stains on his clothing, was talking with Bell on a cellphone when he was arrested, prosecutors said.
Police found Bell on Wednesday in a white vehicle that had been seen outside of the store during the robbery and that was driven off moments after the shooting, prosecutors said.
Bell admitted to police to casing the store before the robbery and being the getaway driver, prosecutors said. Parker also made statements to police admitting to participating in the robbery and being the shooter who killed Floyd, prosecutors said.
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The store is located in a strip mall that shop owners say is normally quiet and free of crime.
Lloyd lived in Concord Commons, a Gary housing complex. He graduated from Horace Mann High School in Gary in 1989, according to this mother. He was also well known for his bowling and softball skills, family and friends said.
Parker and Bell are due back in court June 8.
Nick Swedberg and Dennis Sullivan is a freelance reporter.