A teen charged in the fatal beating of Derrion Albert was released from custody today after Cook County prosecutors dropped murder charges against him in a highly unusual move.
Eugene Bailey, 17, was initially identified by witnesses, including adults, some of whom had watched the now-infamous videotape of the Sept. 24 brawl that showed Albert, 16, being punched and pummeled with large wooden planks, a law enforcement source said.
Bailey, the last of four teens to be charged, was accused by prosecutors at his first court appearance of delivering the “knockout” punch to Albert. He was ordered held without bail at the time.
The charges were leveled against him over consistent objections of his mother and family members who said Bailey was at his brother’s home and nowhere near the fight just blocks from Fenger High School.
“While the charge against Bailey was brought in good faith based on witness accounts and identifications, additional information has developed … that warranted the dismissal,” Cook County State’s Attorney Anita Alvarez said in a written statement. “The murder of Derrion Albert remains under investigation.”
Bailey, who has been in custody for three weeks, walked out of the Cook County Jail late Monday afternoon to a swarm of reporters and cameras. His mother, who was trying to find a place to park when he emerged, finally tracked him down on a side street around the jail and presented him with a bunch of balloons. The teen, who was a friend of Albert’s, called the charge against him despicable and said he fell to his knees in prayer upon learning he would be released.
“Derrion was a good friend of mine,” Bailey said in a brief statement after emerging from the jail, and added that he was not on the scene when the fight had occurred.
“I just want to see my people,” Bailey said before running off on California Avenue toward 26th Street.
Bailey was greeted by a constant onslaught of visitors when he returned to his South Side home Monday night. The house was full of balloons that read “When God closes one door, he opens a window.”
It wasn’t until Saturday after the fight that Bailey “found out my friend was dead and beat down,” he said of Albert.
Bailey said he is eager to go back to school and finish his senior year at Fenger, which he attended for the first time last year. His mother isn’t so sure she wants him to go back. “If it gets hectic, I will take him out,” Ava Greyer said.
After the court hearing, Greyer said: “I want to hear them apologize. They were quick to label him a murderer. I was steady telling them where my son was and that wasn’t my son on that tape.”
Two law enforcement sources said the case was reviewed by Chicago police and the state’s attorney’s office when they found that other witness accounts were conflicting with the identification of Bailey. Among those who had helped identify Bailey were school personnel, a source said.
The investigation into the fatal brawl near Fenger has been ongoing because there are potentially three other suspects who are believed to have participated in the beating.
“The detectives were pretty relentless in trying to identify other people,” a source said. “And they uncovered other information.”
At a regularly scheduled court hearing Monday on the charges, Bailey was called forward as prosecutors quickly asked for charges against him to be dismissed.
Bailey’s mother said the three weeks of custody had changed her son’s life forever. Bailey had no previous criminal record, according to prosecutors.
“Can anyone imagine that kind of pain?” she said referring to his time in custody.
Barbara Bailey, Bailey’s grandmother, said she bears no malice against the state’s attorney’s office, noting her strong belief in God.
“I know prosecutors are not going to be too quick to believe what you say,” she said. “But they’ve got to do their job.”
The brawl that ended in Albert’s death was sparked by ongoing tensions among students who live in the neighborhood around the school and those from Altgeld Gardens, a public-housing development about five miles away.
Also Monday, Chicago Board of Education officials, along with the Rev. Jesse Jackson and Mayor Richard Daley, met with parents from Altgeld.
Kristen Schorsch contributed to this report.
–Kristen Mack and Annie Sweeney
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