Man charged in shooting death of dollar store security guard on Chicago's West Side
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A man has been charged in the shooting death of a Family Dollar store security guard last week in the Austin neighborhood on the West Side.
Chicago Police Supt. Larry Snelling said 36-year-old Rodgerick O'Neal had been charged with first-degree murder in the death of 43-year-old Loyce Wright. O'Neal was arrested over the weekend.
Around 1:40 p.m. on Friday, Wright was in the Family Dollar store at 5410 W. Chicago Ave. when O'Neal came up and shot him several times, police said. Wright was taken to Stroger Hospital of Cook County, where he was pronounced dead.
"He was simply at the store, doing his job, when his life was tragically taken from him," Snelling said.
Police said a tip helped them identify O'Neal as the gunman and track him to Dolton. Detectives also obtained surveillance video footage of O'Neal near the scene of the shooting.
"They did surveillance knowing that they were coming in contact with a very, very violent offender," said Snelling.
Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said O'Neal was a former security guard at the Family Dollar store and might have had a previous argument with Wright.
O'Neal was arrested in south suburban Dolton on Saturday after a shootout with police. No one was shot, but according to a police report, O'Neal bit an officer on the arm during his arrest, hit another officer in the head and face, and spit in the face and eyes of a third officer.
In addition to the murder charges in Wright's death, O'Neal has also been charged with multiple counts of aggravated battery against a police officer, resisting or obstructing a police officer, and attempted murder in connection with the shootout in Dolton.
Police said O'Neal also was wanted on a warrant for attempted murder in west suburban Forest Park at the time of his arrest. he is accused of firing shots at employees at a Thornton's gas station there.
Snelling said police took an extremely violent person off the streets.
"There's no doubt in my mind – if the Chicago Police Department, the detective division, had not acted so swiftly, this individual would have acted out viciously again, and we would have more victims," Snelling said.
O'Neal has an extensive criminal background. In May of last year, he was charged with pointing a gun at someone and having a gun without a Concealed Carry permit – as well as resisting arrest.
O'Neal was denied pretrial release at a court hearing on Tuesday and was due back in court on Friday.
CBS 2 is told O'Neal was not in court Tuesday because he is still in the hospital.
