A Chicago man has been arrested in the October death of an Elgin teen gunned down during a robbery as he was walking to the United Center to attend a Lil Durk concert.
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Deron Wolfe, 19, of the 1800 block of West Adams, will be held in the Cook County jail after being charged with first-degree murder in the Oct. 20 shooting death of Jess Kendall, an 18-year-old Elgin High School senior.
Cook County Circuit Court Judge Shauna Boliker ordered that Wolfe be held on pre-trial detention after he was taken into custody on a warrant.
According to court documents, Kendall was with four other friends as they walked in the 100 Block of North Wolcott Avenue in Chicago, about a block and a half from the United Center. They had just parked their vehicles and were headed to the venue for a concert featuring rapper Lil Durk.
The group of friends was approached by four people dressed in black clothing and wearing ski masks, according to court documents. Each reportedly had a firearm.
With guns pointed at Kendall and his friends, they demanded the groups’ belongings, documents said. After robbing them of cell phones, vehicle keys, lip gloss, wallets and more, one offender wanted the passcode to one of the phones, according to prosecutors.
Kendall advised the robbers to leave and began to walk away, prompting one of the suspects to follow and pistol whip him, prosecutors said. When Kendall fell to the ground, the suspect dropped his gun and Kendall was able to grab it, the report said.
A struggle over the firearm ensued between Kendall and the four suspects. Kendall’s friends “fled and as they did did, they heard gunfire,” prosecutors said.
The friends knocked on doors to nearby homes and were eventually let inside and called 911, according to the report.
Police found Kendall on the sidewalk, shot multiple times, according to authorities. He was taken by ambulance to Cook County’s Stroger Hospital, where he was pronounced dead several hours later.
The shooting left Kendall’s family devastated, his mother said.
“He truly was the light in my life, as are his brothers,” Doris Kendall said about her son.
Court documents said shell casings from 9mm and .40-caliber handguns were recovered at the scene.
A second person shot in the stomach during the incident was located blocks away and later identified as Wolfe, prosecutors said. Police found one of the stolen items when he was searched, officials said.
A 15-year-old who is believed to have been part of the armed robbery crew was also shot in the incident, according to prosecutors.
Wolfe, hospitalized at Stroger, did not regain consciousness until Oct. 25, officials said. The ongoing investigation led to an arrest warrant being issued Jan. 29 and Wolfe being taken into custody Jan. 31.
Kendall “was my baby,” his mother said. “He had his landscaping business, he loved to detail cars. … I told him, ‘Jess, there are not a lot of people your age who have achieved so much.'”
School District U-46 issued a statement about the teen’s death and provided counseling and support services to students and staff who need help dealing with what happened.
Kendall’s father, Gary, posted a Facebook message about his son a day after the shooting.
“Words can’t describe anything right now,” the post read. “I lost a piece of my self last night rest in peace and sleep well Jesse.”
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