Less than two hours after a 17-year-old Chicago teen returned home from a stay at a county juvenile detention center, he allegedly shot his 13-year-old partner in crime as the two were stealing a car together, prosecutors say.
Javar Woods returned home from a stint at the Cook County juvenile detention center in late May when he felled 13-year-old Deantwan McKeever with a single shot to his forehead, according to charges filed in criminal court.
The 13-year-old was actually carrying the gun that would ultimately be used on him after he gave it to Woods apparently for use during the car theft, according to allegations filed in court.
After he was shot, McKeever lay alone in a south side Chicago gangway for roughly 24 minutes before someone finally called 911 on his behalf, officials say, according to a report by CWB Chicago.
Authorities could have been immediately alerted to the gunfire by the city’s ShotSpotter network. However, Mayor Brandon Johnson had deactivated that crime spotting-and-preventing technology in September of 2024, according to CWB.
A Chicago judge on Saturday called Woods a “violent and dangerous person” when he was charged as an adult with first-degree murder.
Prosecutors told the judge that after returning from juvenile detention, McKeever and two other boys took off to steal a car parked on South Coles Avenue.
According to CWB:
Once the group reached the car, McKeever pulled a gun from a backpack he was carrying and handed it to Woods, prosecutors alleged. Meanwhile, the two boys who accompanied McKeever to Woods’ house served as lookouts for the planned car theft.
At approximately 2:43 p.m., one of the lookouts saw Woods standing in a gangway as McKeever ran toward him, prosecutors said. The lookout told investigators he heard two gunshots and watched McKeever collapse in front of Woods, according to prosecutors. Woods then ran into the alley with McKeever’s gun still in his hand, prosecutors alleged. Woods and the two lookouts allegedly ran back to Woods’ house to change clothes.
Why Woods allegedly shot his juvenile partner in crime has not yet been explained by investigators.
Prosecutors said Woods threatened to murder the boys if they told police what they saw. However, despite the threat, both returned to the scene of the homicide and spoke with detectives.
McKeever was transported in critical condition to Comer Children’s Hospital and survived for a week despite the gunshot wound to his forehead but eventually died.
Woods is in jail pending trial. The specific charges that led to his previous juvenile jail sentence were not disclosed in court filings.
ShotSpotter, CWB reported, had the ability to notify the Chicago Police Department of gunfire even when no one called 911. It was even capable of pinpointing shooting locations between buildings and in backyards.
Mayor Johnson terminated the city’s relationship with the company despite two thirds of the city’s aldermen urging him to keep the system active.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.
