Chicago Woman Masterminded Murder Of 9-Year-Old In Skokie: Prosecutors

SKOKIE, IL — The Chicago woman who masterminded the shooting of two children, one fatally, as they watched television at their grandmother's house is an armed security guard who sought revenge after the death of her boyfriend, authorities said.

Tamesha Clark, 32, of Chicago, was charged Friday with the first-degree murder of 9-year-old Jeremiah Ellis and the attempted murder and aggravated battery with a firearm of his wounded 5-year-old brother.

The two boys were shot just after midnight on the morning of May 14 after two shooters fired a "hailstorm of bullets" into a ground floor apartment in the 4700 block of Main Street, according to prosecutors.

Clark, like her two alleged co-offenders who appeared in court a day earlier, was ordered held without bond at the discretion of the judge.

Prosecutors said she, along with 22-year-old Richard Banks and 16-year-old Christian Anderson — both residents of Chicago's Rogers Park neighborhood — conspired to carry out a calculated plan to target the home in retaliation for an August 2021 expressway shooting that left Clark's boyfriend dead.

"The victim's family reported that [Clark] harbored anger against the victim's grandparents and wanted to see revenge for her death," Assistant State's Attorney Mary McMahon said. "The police were directed to a Snapchat story posted by [Clark] on April 25 of 2022 which included the statement, 'Hoe, I'll smoke you and [your] kids. Yeah, b____, I said [your] kids."

Evidence suggests Clark was driving her sister's Nissan Altima — the type of car witnesses identified at the shooting scene — and she was captured on video using her own credit card to make a purchase at a gas station in Evanston before and during the homicide, McMahon said.

According to the prosecutor, Clark drove Anderson and Banks around the victims' apartment the night before the shooting, which led to Skokie police receiving two separate 911 calls.

At 11:37 p.m. on May 12, police got a call about a suspicious car with tinted windows circling the area. A second call came in just before midnight, with the caller telling dispatchers that some people wearing ski masks were in the alley and a gold car with heavily tinted windows was circling the scene, McMahon said.

The next day, cell phone data indicates Clark, Banks and Anderson were in the area of the shooting from about 6 to 6:30 p.m. before they separated for a few hours, according to McMahon. Around 10:30 p.m., Clark picked them up again at the Evanston gas station and headed back to the crime scene. The prosecutor said a license plate reader in Skokie captured an image of the car with a temporary Texas license plate.

McMahon said video evidence shows the Nissan drive into the alleyway behind the home around 10:43, circle the block and return a few minutes later. It then stayed in the alley for about 80 minutes until just after the shooting.

"When the Nissan Altima emerged from the alley and fled the scene, video and license plate reader images reflect that the license plate has been switched to a stolen Illinois license plate," McMahon said.

Clark deleted her text messages, wiped her phone and changed her cell phone number in the days after the slaying, investigators found, but her two alleged accomplices did not, McMahon said. As a result, they found messages between Clark and Anderson on Anderson's phone, including discussions of the police investigation of the shooting.

"[Clark] texted, 'Yes, gotta stay low, they're trying to get to the bottom of it,'" McMahon said. "Further in the same message, [Clark] writes, 'Now they just playing the guessing game, but I'm gonna stay on point and keep my ears to the streets. We low.'"

In another conversation with Anderson, Clark refers to Ellis' grandmother disparagingly, noting she was on the couch at the time of the shooting, McMahon said, which indicates insider knowledge of the shooting.

Clark is a licensed private security guard and legally permitted to carry a gun, according to the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

Earlier: 2 Charged With Murder In Killing Of 9-Year-Old In Skokie

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Tony Carullo, Clark's defense attorney, said she was a lifelong area resident.

"The family is going to be supportive the entire way. She was employed. She was allowed to have firearms and is a lifelong resident of Cook County," Carullo said.

"I did hear circumstantial evidence that may tie [Clark] to certain areas through the relevant period that evening," he said. "And the statements of two offenders that were taken into custody, I think, have to be looked at with a grain of salt, if you will, because those are individuals looking to improve their situation."

Carullo noted Clark has made no admissions to participating in the crime.

"I don't believe there's anything that points to my client — even assuming other facts are true — there's nothing indicating that she is the person firing or doing the shooting in this matter," he said.

Cook County Associate Judge Frank Andreu said the premeditated nature of the crime, as described by police and prosecutors, and the location of the shooting, was especially disturbing.

"This seems to allegedly stem from a shooting that happened ... and a retaliatory strike against the people who [Clark] believed were involved was basically put together, apparently, by Ms. Clark, who was able to somehow get the assistance of the other two co-defendants," Andreu said, noting the extensive planning alleged by prosecutors.

"The thing that's concerning about this case," the judge said, "is that because the motive seems to be a revenge, and I imagine the target that's been referred to in this matter is the grandmother of these two young boys is still out and living her life, and it seems that the retaliation may not stop."

Clark is due back in court June 15 to be indicted. Skokie police officials convened a press conference following her court appearance Friday to discuss the case.

Skokie Police Chief Brian Baker extended his department's condolences to Ellis's family and loved ones.

"The amount of grief that they are going through and what they are experiencing is something that no family should ever have to," Baker said.

Baker said investigators from his department and the North Regional Major Crimes Task Force have worked continuously for the past two weeks on the investigation in the shooting.

"I would like to extend my thanks to each and every one of them for the sacrifice, the pursuit of justice and the effort and professionalism that they give, and gave, non-stop in the pursuit of this case," he said.

The chief also acknowledged the efforts of the police and fire personnel who were first to respond to the shooting scene that night.

"The scene that they came upon was horrible," he said. "This a part and an aspect of our work that a lot of people don't reflect on or don't consider, and it has a great impact on those first responders that were at the scene at that point in time."

Read more: Family Of Slain 9-Year-Old Jeremiah Ellis Address Murder Charges