New Lenox, Ill. — In an unexpected twist in the ongoing trial of a now-21-year-old accused of murder, a witness currently serving prison time revealed details to the court about the night 19-year-old Charles Baird was fatally shot outside a New Lenox gas station. The incident, which occurred on May 11, 2020, has since drawn attention due to the complex web of events leading up to and following the crime.
Marquez Whitfield, 20, serving a five-year jail term for unlawful weapon usage, received immunity from prosecution in exchange for his testimony. He recounted being present in a stolen black SUV when they encountered Baird at a Circle K gas station. According to Whitfield, he attempted to enter Baird’s car but found it locked, then quickly retreated after placing a gun in his backpack. He and others at the scene observed the defendant, then 16 and masked, confront Baird as he returned from the store.
Whitfield detailed how the situation rapidly escalated with the defendant shooting Baird in the back as Baird made a desperate attempt to escape back into the store. Baird, wounded, attempted to crawl for safety.
After the shooting, according to Whitfield, the group fled the scene, with the defendant justifying his actions by claiming he had “feared for his life.” Later that night, Whitfield and the defendant were dropped off at a home in Harvey, Illinois. Importantly, Whitfield emphasized that the shooter did not have the gun upon their departure from the vehicle.
The legal proceedings have spotlighted the associated events around the car theft leading up to the fatal encounter. On the eve of Mother’s Day, two days before the shooting, former Harvey police Officer Terry Young had investigated a suspicious vehicle near the defendant’s residence. He encountered several juveniles who quickly retreated indoors upon his arrival. This vehicle was later implicated in the theft of the black SUV used on the night of the murder.
The gripping chain of events continued to unfold as Louis Masucci, an ex-police officer from Dolton, responded to a vehicular accident on May 11, post-shooting. Masucci testified recognizing the defendant who was wearing a gray hoodie and black pants with distinctive white stripes – attire similar to that described by witnesses at the Circle K gas station and also seen in police surveillance footage.
Further complicating the evidence were statements to Masucci by the defendant, claiming possession of a pistol earlier but insisting it had been passed to another individual, specifics of which he did not divulge. Regrettably, no audio or visual recordings were available to confirm these interactions, as noted by Masucci.
Forensic examinations on the garments worn during the incident by Kimberlee Gruenstein did not detect gunpowder residues, an observation which she pointed out does not conclusively prove absence from the shooting scene. In a related matter, Matthew Shanahan, an evidence technician previously with the New Lenox Police Department, noted that while a fingerprint was recovered from Baird’s car, it did not match the accused, adding an underlying complexity to the case.
The prosecution continues to build its case in the Will County Courthouse in Joliet, where the trial remains set to resume, potentially unlocking more details in this puzzling and tragic narrative. If convicted, the young defendant faces significant legal repercussions, extending the reverberations of that fateful night well into the future.