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player ready...A plea of not guilty has been entered by a man facing murder charges for the Oct. 22 shooting death of a North Chicago man in a Waukegan alley.
An initial trial date of Feb. 14 has been set for Undra Bailey, 30, who pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of first-degree murder. Bailey, who police said is believed to be homeless, is scheduled for a case management hearing before Judge Victoria Rossetti on Dec. 15.
Waukegan police officials said Bailey fatally shot John Collins, 28, of North Chicago, in an alley on South Jackson Street in Waukegan after the two men got into an argument.
At about 2:30 p.m. that day, Waukegan patrol officers responded to the 800 block of South Jackson for a report of a shooting in the rear alley. Officers located Collins, but he was pronounced dead after being transported to Vista Medical Center in Waukegan.
Waukegan Police Cmdr. Joe Florip said Bailey was arrested after he was located on foot in North Chicago on Oct. 24 and was taken into custody without incident.
Since Bailey’s arrest, he has been being held in Lake County Jail with bail set at $2.5 million.
Bailey was released from prison in February 2015 in connection with the previous shooting in North Chicago, according to Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office.
In the previous case, Bailey was charged in May 2011 with attempted first-degree murder, aggravated battery with a firearm, unlawful use of a weapon by a felon, aggravated discharge of a firearm and aggravated battery causing great bodily harm, according to Lake County Circuit Court records.
According to the State’s Attorney’s Office, the charges resulted from a May 20 argument in which Bailey allegedly shot a man twice in the face following an argument in North Chicago.
Officials said after the victim said he couldn’t remember the shooting and that he would not testify at trial, a plea deal was negotiated in which Bailey pleaded guilty to unlawful use of a weapon by a felon and was sentenced to 8 years in prison, which under statute for that charge was served at 50 percent.
He was released from prison on parole on Feb. 10, 2015, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections records.
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