2018 slaying of Chicago gang reporter ZackTV solved, but no prosecution, police documents show – Chicago Tribune

The 2018 killing of “ZackTV,” a pioneer of a dangerous genre of underworld reporting he called the “CNN hood,” appeared to remain unsolved even as gunmen attacked him on a downtown Chicago street lined with surveillance cameras.

Police never announced any arrests in the shooting of Zachary Stoner, who gained national YouTube attention after filling the media niche with stories about the lives and deaths of gang members and associated rappers from places other reporters were afraid to go.

But police records obtained by The Associated Press show that investigators believe they solved his murder several years ago when they arrested members of the Perry Avenue gang on Chicago’s South Side. But in 2019, the prosecutor’s office refused to prosecute, and the police were forced to let the suspects go.

Police say Cook County prosecutors are citing the possibility that both sides in the May 30, 2018 shooting were “mutual combatants,” a controversial legal concept that harkens back to duels between nobles or prearranged shootouts in the Wild West.

That prosecutors filed charges on that basis raises questions about whether Chicago gangs can literally get away with murder when it’s unclear who initiated the shooting and who returned fire in self-defense.

[ Founder of YouTube channel featuring young Chicago talent slain in South Loop ]

Reports and arrest reports obtained in an open inquiry provide insight into what may have led to Stoner’s murder after he left the crowded Clark Street Refuge bar. Based on video footage, eyewitness accounts, cellphone location data and the ballistics of a bullet recovered from the 30-year-old’s brain, police arrested five suspects, ages 19 to 22, in 2018 and 2019 on suspicion of first-degree murder.

Prosecutors also cited “conflicting witnesses” as a reason for not prosecuting. Two suspects were killed. Another, identified by a witness, told police, “I didn’t pull the trigger.”

In response to questions from the AP about Stoner’s case, prosecutors issued a brief statement Monday saying there was “insufficient evidence” to file charges. The police are believed to have agreed.

One Illinois court defined mutual combat as an agreement to fight or when parties in a “sudden altercation and in hot blood fight each other on an equal footing.” Some courts only allow defendants to argue a mutual contest at sentencing in leniency applications.

Police said Chicago prosecutors cited it last year in an initial decision not to prosecute suspects in a deadly West Side shootout between alleged Four Corners gangs. The decision and the alleged basis for it angered Mayor Laurie Lightfoot. In her words, allowing armed individuals to operate with impunity “will bring chaos to this city.”

Stoner’s ZackTV1 channel was profitable, but the work was dangerous. The otherwise upbeat Stoner predicted that a gang excited by his reporting might try to kill him, so he always had a gun close at hand. In one video, he explained, “You just have to be ready.”

Documents show that two of Stoner’s friends were passengers in his SUV when the gunmen in the minivan attacked. One friend pulled out a gun and opened fire through the windshield. The records do not indicate that anyone in his SUV was fired upon first.

The partially redacted records do not directly address a motive for the shooting.

Gang violence, however, is easy to trigger, according to a 2019 University of Illinois gang report, pointing to widespread gang “hypersensitivity” and “hypermasculinity.” It says that violence nowadays usually arises from perceived slights that can escalate into years of revenge killings.

Stoner did not belong to a gang, but grew up in the territory of the “Goon Town” gang. Gangs and police often mistake young black men for gang members in their neighborhood. So the other gangs could see Stoner as an associate of Goon Town.

Gun Town and Perry Avenue, located on the south side, are long-standing enemies. Over the years, they have posted rap videos on social media mocking each other.

Police say Perry Avenue, like Gun Town, is home to the Gangster Disciples. Animosity between factions within the same gang is common, and members show primary loyalty to their faction, according to the gang’s report.

At the bar, Stoner was all smiles while mingling in a White Sox cap, according to a video posted by another videographer. For many of the more than 100 revelers, “ZackTV” was a household name admired in the Chicago hip-hop community for supporting local rappers and promoting gang peace.

But the joyous atmosphere was spoiled when the two factions engaged in a rap battle, spewing disparaging words about each other. One witness said Stoner appeared nervous as he left, asking his friends to leave as well.

While records black out the names of Stoner’s passengers, his friend, rapper Thomas “T-Streetz” Davis, said on social media that he was one of them. And the same video shows him in a bar near Stoner. He and the other passenger also died.

At 1:29 a.m., two blocks from the bar, a minivan plowed into Stoner, smashing the windows. Bullets pierced his SUV. One broke through the shoulder; one hit behind the ear, lodged in the brain. When he crashed into a street lamp, his friends, one of whom was injured, ran away. They later said they feared their adversary would attack again.

Police arrived at 1:35 a.m. to find Stoner alone, slumped over in a seat. One officer checked his pulse. He was still alive. The officer also found Stoner’s .40-caliber handgun at his feet. It was loaded, but it never fired.

The doctor pronounced him dead at 4:20 am

Hours before Stoner’s funeral on June 9, 2018, a gunman killed Davis on the southbound sidewalk. An autopsy revealed the word tattooed on his back. It said, “ZackTV.”

The New York Committee to Protect Journalists expressed concern that Stoner was killed for his journalism. The fact that there were others with him suggests that he was not the intended target.

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Police consider Stoner’s case solved. They clear less than 30% of murders in the year they occur. Cases are closed when the police deem them solved, although this does not necessarily equate to formal charges or prosecution.

One of the problems for investigators in the city has about 800 murders in 2021, the number of pending cases is constantly increasing. Another way is to convince witnesses to bypass the street code against whistleblowers and confide in a police department with a history of abuse.

Political opponents, the Chicago police union and suburban police chiefs have also accused the state attorney general’s office, led by Kim Foxx, of not being aggressive enough in its prosecution.

Responding to the mayor’s criticism last year, Fox cited Chicago’s dark history of wrongful convictions.

“We can’t cut corners,” Fox said.

In February, she announced the charges in the Four Corner Hustlers case.

Prosecutors are leaving the door open to filing charges in the Stoner case. A statement this week said they would “consider any further information brought to us by the police”.