Chicago Police said they have made an arrest in a “targeted robbery” that resulted in the shooting death of a Cook County judge, though they indicated more arrests could follow as detectives continue to work the case.
On Wednesday, April 12, Chicago Police announced Joshua Smith, 37, had been charged with first degree murder, attempted murder and obstruction of justice in connection with the murder of Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Raymond Myles.
Myles died after he was shot multiple times by an assailant around 5 a.m. Monday, April 10, outside his home in Chicago’s West Chesterfield neighborhood, on the city’s South Side.
At a press conference early Wednesday evening, Chicago Police Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples said police matched the bullets that killed Myles to a gun also used in what police believe to be an unrelated armed robbery in January. The victim of the January robbery survived the gunshot wounds, Staples said.
Staples said surveillance footage obtained from cameras mounted near the judge’s home helped police identify a vehicle driven from the scene of the murder, which may have led them to Smith. Staples said the owner of the vehicle was interviewed by police, and police do not believe that person was involved in the judge’s murder.
While she wouldn’t say if the murder was related to Myles’ duties as judge, Staples said police do not believe the attack was “random,” and they also believe Smith did not act alone.
She said the investigation into the murder was “far from over,” and detectives were continuing to seek to identify all those responsible.
According to police, Myles, 66, appeared to come to the aid of a woman he knew after she became involved in an altercation with a man on a concrete parking pad between the judge’s home and his garage, behind the house. According to Staples, the woman was shot once in the leg. The judge then exited the house, exchanged words with the attacker, who then allegedly shot him multiple times and fled on foot.
The woman then called 911, Staples said, followed by numerous other neighbors.
Staples declined to identify the woman, describing her only as a “close associate” of Myles, with whom the judge would regularly “work out.”
Myles had served in Cook County’s criminal courts since 1999, and police said they were aware of threats the judge has received in the past.