On the evening of July 11, 2014, a 16-year-old Black male from Venice, Illinois, Malik Amonte' Garrett, was gunned down in the parking lot of a neighborhood market at 308 Madison Avenue in Madison. Officers responded around 5:15 p.m. after multiple 911 calls reported shots fired; medics and police found the 16-year-old male on the pavement with three gunshot wounds. He was rushed to Gateway Regional Medical Center, where he died about an hour later.
Earlier that afternoon, a drive-by shooting in Brooklyn, Illinois had sent a bullet into the headboard of the home where 17-year-old Craig D. Miller lived. Within roughly 30 minutes, the 17-year-old tracked the 16-year-old male to the Madison market, approached from behind, called out to get his attention, and opened fire, striking the 16-year-old Malik in the leg and abdomen as he tried to run. Witnesses described the shooter chasing him across the lot and continuing to fire; video later captured the pursuit in the parking area.
While still conscious on the ground, the 16-year-old male told responders and relatives who shot him, identifying “Craig from Brooklyn,” Craig Miller, before being taken to the hospital. Paramedics, police, and a family member recounted the identification, and investigators recovered multiple 9mm shell casings clustered near where he fell and along the building's side. Malik Amonte' Garrett had no weapon on him.
Craig D. Miller was arrested later that day. On July 14, 2014, prosecutors charged the 17-year-old with two counts of first-degree murder and aggravated discharge of a firearm, alleging he fired into a small group that included the 16-year-old male. The charging announcement detailed the time, location, and the three wounds that ultimately claimed the life of the 16-year-old Malik Amonte' Garrett.
At trial in April 2017, the defendant, by then 19, took the stand and admitted he shot the 16-year-old male, saying he believed the teen was behind the earlier drive-by at his home. Prosecutors argued he retaliated against the wrong person: Malik Amonte' Garrett was unarmed, and surveillance video showed the gunman chasing and continuing to shoot as the victim fled. Jurors heard testimony about the dying identification of the shooter and saw the parking-lot footage that tracked the pursuit.
A Madison County jury convicted Miller of first-degree murder on April 13, 2017, and on August 2, 2017, a judge sentenced him to 40 years in prison, a term he is required to serve in full under Illinois law. In remarks reported after sentencing, officials emphasized the senselessness of the killing and the pain borne by the family of the 16-year-old Malik Amonte' Garett. The conviction and sentence were later affirmed on appeal on November 30, 2020.
