Executive Summary
- Marquese Hill, 18, and Marshawn Sanders, 17, have been charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
- Victims Darwin Tirado and Damon Kellum were killed in separate incidents approximately one hour apart on February 11.
- The suspects are alleged to have committed multiple carjackings spanning Chicago’s North and South sides.
- Police utilized surveillance tracking to link the suspects to the crimes and an earlier January incident.
- Both defendants have been ordered detained pending trial.
CHICAGO — Two teenagers have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with a violent carjacking spree across the North and South sides of Chicago that resulted in the deaths of two men earlier this month, according to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office. Officials announced that Marquese Hill, 18, and Marshawn Sanders, 17, are in custody facing multiple felony counts related to the events of February 11.
Prosecutors allege that Hill and Sanders, along with accomplices, engaged in a series of crimes that began in the early morning hours. According to court documents, the pair had exited the Red Line at Belmont shortly before 4 a.m. when they encountered Darwin Tirado, 22, and a friend in Lakeview. Authorities state that as Tirado’s friend exited the driver’s seat of a Hyundai, the suspects approached. Sanders allegedly fired a weapon, striking Tirado in the back while he was seated in the passenger side. Tirado was transported to Illinois Masonic Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Following the shooting in Lakeview, police tracked the stolen Hyundai via surveillance cameras as it traveled south on DuSable Lake Shore Drive. Approximately 40 minutes later, in the Bronzeville neighborhood, the suspects reportedly utilized the stolen vehicle to block a Nissan Altima driven by 45-year-old Damon Kellum. Court filings indicate that after a collision between the vehicles, the suspects exited the Hyundai, and one fatally shot Kellum in the eye. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The spree allegedly continued as the suspects drove the Nissan to a gas station on South Wentworth Avenue, where they attempted to carjack a 70-year-old man who managed to escape. Minutes later, near 87th Street and Lafayette Avenue, the pair reportedly carjacked a Chevrolet Malibu at gunpoint. Police tracked the Chevrolet to Gary, Indiana, where it was later recovered.
Hill was arrested on February 15 following a retail theft incident in Lincoln Park. Prosecutors noted that at the time of his arrest, Hill was in possession of clothing matching the description of what was worn during the carjackings. Sanders was identified via surveillance footage by a witness familiar with him. In addition to the February 11 charges, authorities have linked the pair to a January 10 carjacking and home invasion in West Ridge.
Hill faces two counts of first-degree murder and eight felony charges connected to the carjackings. Sanders, who is being charged as an adult, faces two counts of first-degree murder and four felony counts. Both defendants were ordered detained pending trial. It is important to note that all individuals are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
Investigative Outlook
The swift apprehension of the suspects highlights the increasing reliance of law enforcement on integrated surveillance networks, including pod cameras, red-light cameras, and license plate readers, to track high-velocity crime sprees across multiple police districts. The ability to correlate forensic evidence, such as clothing recovered during unrelated arrests, with video footage from disparate crime scenes demonstrates the critical role of data aggregation in modern homicide investigations. Furthermore, the cross-jurisdictional recovery of the vehicle in Indiana underscores the necessity for federal and interstate cooperation in addressing vehicular hijacking rings that operate beyond municipal boundaries.
