Interim Chicago police Supt. Charlie Beck says he’s furious that a man accused of shooting an officer in 2018 was allowed to go free on bail.
“To release somebody that is suspected and charged with attempted murder on a police officer for a low amount of bail is outrageous,” Beck told the Chicago Sun-Times.
Officer Fernando Soto saw Bryce Jones-Lanum holding what looked like a gun while crossing 87th Street and Ashland Avenue on Nov. 20, 2018, police say. As he ran, Jones-Lanum pointed a .38-caliber revolver at Soto, and they exchanged fire, police say.
Soto escaped with a bruise after being shot in the back of his protective vest. Jones-Lanum, who’s now 22, was wounded.
Jones-Lanum initially was held without bail. But at a hearing in October, Cook County Circuit Judge Diana Kenworthy granted him bail of $50,000, and he posted the required 10% bond to be released until trial.
She placed Jones-Lanum on electronic monitoring and required him to stay home unless he got a job or attended school.
Beck said although the shooting happened in 2018 and Jones-Lanum was released in October, the issue recently came to his attention because he was planning to attend a fundraiser for officers’ protective vests.
