As a large West Side block party was winding down early Sunday, a man accused of murder allegedly got his victims’ attention by claiming his car was damaged before opening fire and stealing one of their bags, Cook County prosecutors said in court Wednesday.
Then while in custody, Ortez Owens allegedly asked his wife to bring him pants. But when she did, she allegedly brought the bloodstained pants the wore during the killing.
Owens, 35, faces murder and attempted murder charges in the killing 18-year-old Kaleb Williams and wounding one of William’s friend, also 18, during the Austin neighborhood block party. The party, dubbed “Club JROY,” drew hundreds of people and resulted in at least two other shootings that left another person dead and six others wounded.
In the double shooting that killed Williams, prosecutors said Owens confronted Williams and his friends as they headed home around 5 a.m. Sunday from the in the 5000 block of West Maypole Avenue.
Owens told the group there was damage to his sunroof before he pulled out a gun and ordered them to drop their backpacks, prosecutors said. As the group turned and began to run away, Owens and another person in the car opened fire, fatally hitting Williams twice in the lower back and striking an 18-year-old man in the arm. Two other friends in the group were not injured.
Williams was a semester away from graduating from Crete-Monee High School, where he’d won two high school football championships, his family told the Sun-Times.
After the shooting, Owens drove off in his white Toyota Camry before circling back and taking Williams’ backpack, prosecutors said.
Hours later, officers tracked Owens’ car and found it parked near his home. Officers arrested Owens later on Sunday when he exited his home.
While in custody, Owens allegedly asked police for his wife to bring him long pants. When she did, the wife allegedly gave detectives bloodstained pants he wore during the shooting. Also while in custody, Owens called his wife and claimed he had committed murder because the sunroof of his car had been shot out and he wanted to retaliate, prosecutors said.
No weapons were found on Williams or his three friends, prosecutors said.
Cook County Circuit Judge Ankur Srivastava ordered him detained at a hearing Wednesday. At the hearing, Owens requested a protective order after receiving threats on social media. He was expected to appear in court again Sept. 2.