In a courtroom packed with police, a man was ordered detained Thursday in the killing of Chicago police Officer Enrique Martinez in a burst of rapid fire during a traffic stop in Chatham on the South Side that also claimed the life of the car’s driver.
A relative of Darion McMillian, 23, of Harvey, wept as he appeared on charges of first-degree murder in the killings Monday night in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue.
McMillian used a handgun equipped with an extended magazine and modified with a switch to fire automatically, police and prosecutors said.
Officers had stopped the Ford Escape carrying McMillian around 8 p.m. after noticing it had temporary plates from Wisconsin and was double-parked, prosecutors said in court.
McMillian was in front passenger seat. As Martinez and his partner spoke to the driver, they noticed McMillian reaching for a backpack at his feet and repeatedly ordered him to stop, officials said.
McMillian pulled out a .40-caliber handgun equipped with a switch and opened fire, striking both his friend in the driver's seat and Martinez.
McMillian then shoved his friend out of the car and climbed into the driver's seat and drove off as Martinez's partner tried to pull him out of the car.
The Ford Escape crashed into a parked car and McMillian ran into an apartment with a woman inside, officials said. He used a knife to cut off an electronic monitoring bracelet and fled to the 8000 block of South Maryland Avenue, where he was taken into custody.
McMillian had been placed on electronic monitoring in Will County after a recent arrest in Chicago.
The Will County sheriff’s office issued a warrant for McMillian’s arrest last month, and he was charged with a felony, accused of trying to foil a drug test, according to court records and Ursitti. At the time, McMillian was facing felony cannabis charges.
The Chicago police arrested him Oct. 11 on the warrant, court records show. After he was released on electronic monitoring in the new case, Will County prosecutors sought to have him detained pending trial on the cannabis charges. That case was continued on Oct. 28.
McMillian previously pleaded guilty to a felony charge of aggravated discharge of a firearm in May 2021, records show.
While held in jail in that case, he was hit with more felony charges stemming from a group attack on another inmate.
He pleaded guilty to a battery charge that was reduced from a felony to a misdemeanor on the same day as his other plea deal.
McMillian was sentenced to four years in prison in the shooting case and mandatory supervised release, records show. He was fined and ordered to pay court costs in the other case.
In ordering McMillian detained, Judge Dyer entered an order that Chicago police and the Civilian Office of Police Accountability not release records in the case.
