A judge has denied the request for bond of a man accused of killing a Chicago convenience store clerk during an attempted robbery late last month. The suspect identified as 45-year-old Jimmy Smith is charged with first-degree murder, felony murder, and felony robbery. The judge stated in court Sunday he cannot turn a blind eye to the fact that the incident resulted in a life lost.
The victim, 43-year-old Shadi Almomani, was shot and killed outside his workplace on January 9th. Law enforcement officials arrested Smith on Friday and identified him as the killer of Almomani. When Smith appeared in court for the first time Saturday, the assistant state's attorney said Smith was a frequent customer of the store where Almomani worked, the Half Moon grocery store near the corner of 79th and Martin Luther King Jr. Drive in the Grand Crossing neighborhood.
In the aftermath of this horrific shooting incident, the store owner, Rami Kannan, decided to permanently shut down the business, just hours after the crime. This is a perfect example of how the community around that store was affected by that one incident, aside from the victim's family. The denial of bond not only speaks to the gravity of the charges against Smith but also to the continued concern for public safety after this heinous event.
"It's not worth it. It's not worth it," he told a reporter. They just took my
brother's life over what? Over money? We work. We make money."
