Second man charged in Lake Shore Drive death

CHICAGO (Sun-Times Media Wire) - A second man has been charged with murder after a 32-year-old woman was struck by a pickup on Lake Shore Drive last weekend as she and her boyfriend tried to run away from an armed robbery.

Devonte M. Dodd, 20, was charged with two counts of murder and one count of attempted robbery with a firearm, both felonies, as well as one misdemeanor count of mob action, according to Chicago Police.

Dodd is accused of approaching 32-year-old Pamela Johnson and her boyfriend, 43-year-old Eugene Jackson, and announcing a robbery about 1:30 a.m. May 29 in the 600 block of North Lake Shore Drive, police said.

Police say that Dodd chased the two while 18-year-old Semaj Waters pointed a handgun in their direction. Johnson and Jackson tried to run across Lake Shore Drive where they were hit by a pickup.

Johnson, the mother of a 12-year-old son, later died at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. Jackson was not seriously injured.

Waters was also charged with murder, armed robbery and mob action and was ordered held on $500,000 bail Saturday. The two are alleged to be among a group of seven or eight men and teens who tried to rob the pair.

Dodd is scheduled to appear in bond court Sunday.

Police last week said they were questioning two adults and four teenagers in connection with Johnson’s death and had released CTA surveillance photos form the Chicago Avenue Red Line stop, showing the group of men who allegedly were involved in the robbery attempt, filmed shortly after the fatal crash.

Police said the video supported Jackson’s account of the incident, and shows the couple was approached by a group of seven or eight men before the fatal accident.

Jackson said he and Johnson were sitting near Lake Michigan, enjoying the warm weather as they discussed their future together. The couple made frequent trips to the lakefront from their South Side neighborhood.