Malik Jones, 16, Nicholas Ayala, 17, and Anthony Malcolm, 18, have all been charged with first-degree murder and robbery after killing Delfino Mora, 62, who was collecting cans in West Rogers Park in Chicago at the time of the vicious attack, reports the Chicago Tribune.
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According to prosecutors, the teens decided to play a deadly game called “Pick ‘Em Out and Knock ‘Em Out” at around 5:00 a.m. when they spotted Mora. To make matters even more horrific, they allegedly recorded the attack and posted it on Facebook.
At a bond hearing for Ayala and Malcolm, Assistant State’s Attorney Terry Clancy claims that it was Jones who instigated the attack, saying, “‘I think I’m gonna knock out this (expletive).'”
The Tribune reports:
The three then surrounded Mora. Jones asked him if he had any money in his pockets, and when Mora did not respond, Jones punched him in the head, according to Clancy.
Mora fell to the ground and hit his head on the concrete with a loud crack that could be heard on the video, Clancy said.
Jones took $60 in cash from Mora’s wallet and the three fled. Clancy said all three could be heard on the recording laughing about the attack.
Mora, of the 6000 block of North Washtenaw Avenue, was found unconscious but breathing about three hours later, prosecutors said. He was taken to St. Francis Hospital in Evanston in critical condition and died at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday. An autopsy by the Cook County medical examiner’s office found that the 5-foot-7-inch Mora died from blunt head trauma in an assault.
The recording was later put on Jones’ Facebook page and was viewed by a witness who knows Jones. That person shared the video with others until it was eventually seen by a co-worker of the victim’s son, prosecutors said. The video was then taken to police by witnesses.
Malcolm’s family and friends were in the courtroom to provide moral support, all of them claiming that he was not the kind of person that would commit such a crime.
“He just got caught up with the wrong friends,” said Melvin Corhn, a family friend. “We are deeply, truly hurt by what happened. It’s unbelievable that someone would videotape this and put it on the Internet for publicity.”
Malcolm was further described as a “good kid” who wanted to go into law enforcement.
Judge Israel Desierto denied bail for all three of the men.
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