Johnny Parris, a 23-year-old African American male, was tragically killed in a shooting on August 3, 2019, in the West Garfield Park neighborhood of Chicago, Illinois. The incident occurred around 2:25 a.m. in the 4600 block of West Monroe Street. Johnny was sitting in a vehicle while a 28-year-old man stood next to him when an unknown assailant opened fire. Johnny was struck in the chest and was rushed to Stroger Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide, citing a gunshot wound to the flank as the cause of death.
The shooting also injured the 28-year-old man, who was hit in the leg and taken to the same hospital, where his condition was stabilized. Despite the severity of the incident, no arrests were made immediately following the shooting, and Area North detectives launched an investigation to identify the perpetrator.
Further developments in the case revealed that Johnny Parris was often in the company of a 29-year-old transgender woman, who worked as a prostitute. On the night of the shooting, the woman was leaning on the hood of their car when Kortney Darby, a 43-year-old registered sexual predator, drove by in a silver Dodge pickup and nearly struck her. Darby, who had a history of violent offenses, allegedly shouted at the woman to get off his block before opening fire. Johnny Parris attempted to flee but was fatally shot. The woman was also injured in the thigh during the shooting.
Kortney Darby was later arrested and charged with first-degree murder and attempted first-degree murder. During the investigation, detectives recovered nine shell casings at the scene and obtained police POD camera footage of Darby's vehicle, which matched the description of the silver Dodge pickup registered to him. An officer identified the car from an internal police department image, and the woman later identified Darby as the shooter in a photo array.
The case against Darby highlighted his previous conviction for kidnapping and sexual assault in 2000, involving an 18-year-old victim. This background, combined with the evidence gathered, led to Darby being denied bail as he awaited trial for the murder of Johnny Parris and the attempted murder of the transgender woman.
