Acquittal in slaying of aspiring fashion stylist - Chicago Tribune

A Cook County jury has acquitted a 19-year-old man accused of killing an up-and-coming fashion stylist during what authorities described as a robbery-gone-bad on the South Side.

A jury before Judge Erica Reddick on Wednesday found Cortez Smith not guilty in the shooting death of Dione Deshawn Moody just days before Christmas in 2011.

Authorities alleged that Smith, who was 17 at the time, approached Moody and asked for change for a $10 bill, then pulled a handgun after Moody put down his groceries and took out his wallet in the early evening of Dec. 19, 2011, according to court documents.

Prosecutors said Smith shot Moody in the head when he tried to get away.

Police found Moody unresponsive in the vestibule of his apartment building in the 2000 block of East 68th Street in the South Shore neighborhood. Smith, who lived only a few blocks from Moody, was later arrested and charged with murder.

Moody had been making a name for himself as a stylist for fashion shoots and blogger.

Testimony from witnesses didn’t sway the jury, which initially couldn't reach a verdict but then found Smith not guilty.

The verdict devastated Moody’s mother, Veronica, who traveled from her home in Milwaukee to attend each day of the trial. Veronica Moody said her family struggled to understand the jury’s decision.

Moody, 31, who worked under his middle name Deshawn, was the oldest of 10 siblings and was a doting big brother.

“It’s heartbreaking for all of us. My son was gunned down for a petty crime and the guy walked,” Veronica Moody said Thursday, one day after the acquittal. “It’s like we have no justice system.

Several messages left with Smith’s attorney weren’t returned.

wlee@tribune.com

Twitter: @MidNoirCowboy

via fashion - Google News http://ift.tt/19j76r0