A man suspected on Friday of being the gunman who shot and paralyzed another man on the Dan Ryan Expressway in 2024 was on pretrial release for two burglary cases at the time, according to court documents.
Keyon White, 34, is a six-time convicted felon with six pending burglary cases, including one for which he was on bond when the shooting occurred on March 1, 2024, according to public records.
Officials claimed White and the 36-year-old victim were on the outbound freeway near 83rd Street when White shot him six times. According to the criminal complaint, a gunshot impacted the victim’s spine and caused paralysis.
White earned a three-year jail sentence last year after pleading guilty to one of the burglary cases he was facing at the time of the shooting. According to court records, he had previous convictions for a firearms case in 2008, three residential burglaries in 2010, and felon in possession of a handgun in 2017.
Judge John Hock jailed him on Friday for attempted murder and aggravated battery with a handgun.
White is the 35th individual charged with shooting, killing, or attempting to shoot or kill someone in Chicago last year while on felony pretrial release. The instances include 51 people, 14 of whom died.
The “not horrible” series
This report continues our coverage of those accused of killing, shooting, or attempting to kill or shoot others while on pretrial release for a felony. CWBChicago launched its series of reports in November 2019 after Cook County Chief Judge Timothy Evans publicly claimed, “We haven’t had any horrible incidents occur” as part of the court’s bond reform project.
The actual number of killings and shootings committed by those awaiting trial on felony charges is certainly far higher than the figures presented here. According to city records, since 2017, the CPD has charged less than 5% of non-fatal shootings and 33% of homicides.
