By Aaron Miller-
A man from Chicago has been arrested without bail on Wednesday and charged with first degree murder for allegedly shooting his 27-year-old childhood friend to death earlier this month in the West Side neighbourhood.
Denzel Ollison, 26, was charged with first-degree murder for the Nov. 4 shooting of Mitchel Barber, according to Cook County prosecutors. Surprisingly, he has no other criminal history. The handgun he used was purchased in May and toxicology reports revealed the presence of alcohol and marijuana.
Ollison and Barber were childhood friends and neighbours, prosecutors said, and were together at Barber’s family’s home in the 5800 block of West Superior Street when an argument broke out in connection to a girl. Locals say the dead man is believed to have had a fling with the perpetrator’s girlfriend.
The pair were sat in the front porch of the home, then minutes later heard a gunshot, prosecutors said. Barber stumbled into the house, walked upstairs and collapsed. He was rushed to Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, where he died.
A 9mm shell casing and live round were recovered on the front porch of the home, along with Barber’s phone. The gun was purchased in May, prosecutors also revealed.
The medical examiner’s noted that Barber’s injury was consistent with a gun shot from three or more feet away, not at close range, according to prosecutors.
A witness, sitting in her car during the incident, heard the gunshot and saw a man in a red hooded sweatshirt jump down from the front porch and run east, then north to the back of the home, prosecutors said.
When detectives arrived at the scene, Ollison’s mother told them her son went to West Suburban Medical Center in Oak Park about 12:10 p.m. for a bad experience with drugs, prosecutors said. His toxicology reports would later come back negative for everything besides alcohol and marijuana.
Ollison later told professionals at Norwegian Memorial Hospital that he had experienced hallucinations and suicidal ideations and that there were spirits telling him to kill himself, prosecutors said. He also told medical officials about a recent altercation with a friend where a gun went off and the friend was injured.
A search warrant was later conducted at Ollison’s home and while no gun was recovered, detectives did find two red hooded sweatshirts.
Records show Ollison purchased a 9mm handgun in May and has a valid FOID card, prosectors said. He has no other criminal history.