Fatal August shooting reportedly captured on camera: DeKalb police

SYCAMORE – Police say video surveillance footage captured a DeKalb man allegedly fire a fatal gunshot to the head that killed an 18-year-old outside an apartment complex where they lived in August, according to DeKalb County court records.

The victim, also from DeKalb, has not yet been identified by authorities as of Sunday.

The alleged Aug. 24 murder – for which Michael H. Howard Jr., 25, of the 900 block of Ridge Drive in DeKalb faces life in prison if convicted – was reported around 4:21 p.m., court records state. Howard is charged with one count of first degree murder, a class M felony.

One witness told police the men knew each other, that they lived in the same apartment, and he thought they “were brothers,” records allege. The witness, a juvenile, said he knew Howard as “Little Mike,” records state. Another witness told police they saw Howard allegedly walk back toward the apartment building with blood on his face after he pulled the trigger.

Police found one spent bullet shell casing at the scene, records state.

According to court documents, DeKalb police reviewed video surveillance footage which shows a man – who witnesses later identified as Howard – wearing a white shirt with a long-sleeved piece of clothing on top exit a white vehicle and raise his arm toward the victim as the victim walked toward the vehicle.

“The victim is seen immediately collapsing,” court records state. Video showed that same man walk back to the apartment building before turning to leave in the vehicle.

The juvenile witness told police they saw the 18-year-old victim walk toward the white vehicle, Howard get out and allegedly shoot the victim.

Howard appeared before Associate Judge Stephanie Klein Sunday for a Labor Day weekend bond hearing after he was arrested more than a week ago in Cook County on a $5 million warrant. He was represented by attorney Michelle Dietrich of the DeKalb County Public Defender’s Office, who told the judge she hadn’t yet been able to review Howard’s case.

As he awaits a second bond hearing this week, Howard will be held at the DeKalb County Jail without bond, Klein ruled.

Howard is expected to appear in front of Circuit Court Judge Marcy Buick at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in courtroom 220 at the DeKalb County Courthouse for a hearing on the DeKalb County State’s Attorney’s Office motion to deny bail in the case.

The shooting occurred about 4:15 p.m. Aug. 23 outside an apartment building at West Ridge Apartments in the 900 block of Ridge Drive, court records show.

In an interview Aug. 23, DeKalb Police Chief David Byrd said when officers arrived, they found a man lying on the sidewalk outside an apartment building suffering from an apparent gunshot wound to the head. Officers began to perform CPR life-saving measures until paramedics arrived.

The victim was taken to Northwestern Medicine Kishwaukee Hospital in serious condition, where he succumbed to his injuries.

Officers were alerted to a suspect – identified as Howard – after he left a vehicle in the area, although he evaded police capture until Thursday, according to the release. Howard was located in Chicago, where he was arrested and detained by the Chicago Police Department Thursday morning, according to a news release from the DeKalb Police Department.