Police officer from Chicago suburb charged with murder

• Dante Salinas is charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.
• He was indicted on felony counts of aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and official misconduct.
• A 19-year-old local man, Marcellis Stinnette, died and his girlfriend, Tafara Williams, was injured in the shooting.

Authorities announced on Thursday that a former suburban Chicago police officer who was fired after shooting into a car two years ago, killing a Black man and seriously injuring the man’s girlfriend, has been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a news release that it had unsealed grand jury indictments against former Waukegan police Officer Dante Salinas in connection with the Oct. 20, 2020, shooting that killed a 19-year-old local man, Marcellis Stinnette, and injured his girlfriend, Tafara Williams. Salinas was also charged with aggravated battery causing great bodily harm and official misconduct.

According to investigators, on the night of the shooting, another Waukegan officer stopped the couple’s car and was questioning them when Williams abruptly drove away. The officer pursued them, and Salinas answered his call for assistance by joining the chase.

The Lake County State’s Attorney’s office said in a news release Thursday that Williams drove off a roadway and crashed, then put her car in reverse in an attempt to leave the area.

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According to the news, Salinas had climbed out of his squad car and was not in the path of Williams’ car, but he “fired several shots into the driver’s side of the vehicle as it continued to reverse past him.”

According to Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, an expert analysing the trajectory of the bullets was able to determine the location of Salinas and the trajectory of his bullets.

Prosecutors said Salinas surrendered to authorities on Thursday and that a judge ordered him held on $350,000 bond. Second-degree murder carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, while manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of five years. If Salinas is found guilty on both counts, his sentences will run concurrently.

When reached by phone, Douglas Zeit, the attorney who represented Salinas in court on Thursday, declined to comment.

Williams faces aggravated fleeing charges. She also surrendered to authorities, and a judge ordered her release on a $50,000 recognisance bond.

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