No bail for man charged in road-rage shooting of Kayden Swann on Lake Shore Drive
CHICAGO - A judge denied bail for a Morgan Park man charged in the brazen, midday road-rage shooting on Lake Shore Drive that critically wounded 22-month-old Kayden Swann in early April.
The arrest of Deandre Binion, 25, hinged on help from Kayden’s grandmother, who was with Kayden when he was shot in the temple on April 6, according to Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan.
The car Binion was driving was a rental car. Police were able to use a license plate reader to track the car.
Kayden's grandma and her boyfriend were then able to ID Binion as the shooter.
Deandre Binion | Chicago police
"We couldn’t have arrested him without her cooperation," Deenihan said.
Detectives had used surveillance video to track the shooter’s car but discovered the car wasn’t registered to Binion, Deenihan said in a news conference.
"She didn’t know the defendant. Like I said, this was road rage," he said. "She gave us a great description, so we were able to put him in a photo array and she eventually picked him out."
Binion was arrested Tuesday and charged with attempted first-degree murder and aggravated battery with a firearm. Police recovered the weapon used in the shooting, along with other weapons, Deenihan said.
Prosecutors have previously charged Jushawn Brown with unlawful possession of a weapon in connection with the shooting. In his initial court hearing, prosecutors said Brown was driving his car on Lake Shore Drive, with Kayden in the rear seat, when an SUV that attempted to merge onto the highway nearly struck his car near Soldier Field.
Brown pulled over and yelled at the driver of the SUV, and the two exchanged words until the driver of the SUV pulled out a gun and showed it to Brown while asking him, "What did he want to do about it," prosecutors said.
Brown took out his own gun and placed it on his lap before trying to drive away from the SUV, which followed him.
DOWNLOAD THE FOX 32 NEWS APP FOR BREAKING NEWS ALERTS
The driver of the SUV fired several shots at Brown’s car near the Shedd Aquarium, striking it several times. One of the bullets smashed through the rear passenger window and hit the boy in the head.
Brown continued to drive north until he lost control and crashed.
A good Samaritan picked up Brown, Brown’s girlfriend and the child and drove them to Northwestern Hospital. The boy was transferred to Lurie Children’s Hospital.
Kayden suffered a severe brain injury and was put in a medically-induced coma and on a ventilator, doctors said. Earlier this week, doctors said the child was out of intensive care and showing "remarkable progress."
Binion was found not guilty in 2018 of possession of a firearm with a defaced serial number and aggravated unauthorized use of a weapon, court records show. He was expected to appear in court on the latest charges Friday.
Binion's next court date is April 30.