CHICAGO (CN) – A Cook County judge was murdered outside his home in the early morning hours Monday in what detectives say might have been an attempted robbery.
Associate Circuit Court Judge Raymond Myles, 66, was shot several times and pronounced dead at the hospital after being found on his porch in the West Chesterfield neighborhood on Chicago’s South Side, according to local news reports.
A 52-year-old woman was also shot in the leg and taken to the hospital in critical condition. She is expected to survive.
Detectives working the case don’t know if the judge’s job had anything to do with his shooting, police reportedly said, and Myles may have been a victim of attempted robbery.
Police have not released any details about the shooting, but a neighbor told the Chicago Tribune that he woke up to gunshots and a woman screaming, “Don’t kill him, don’t kill him!”
The same man said Judge Myles liked to garden and always watched out for the entire neighborhood.
Working for the Cook County Circuit Court Criminal Division since 2009, Myles had been involved in several high profile cases, including trials for the 1993 Brown’s Chicken murders and the killing of several relatives of singer Jennifer Hudson, the Tribune reported.
The judge was appointed to the Cook County Circuit Court in 1999 after an extensive career in law and community service.
Chief Judge Timothy C. Evans said in a statement, “I join all of the judges today in the Circuit Court of Cook County in expressing our sadness regarding the tragic passing of our colleague and friend, Associate Judge Raymond Myles. I offer my deepest condolences to his family, friends and colleagues in the Criminal Division.”
“Judge Myles joined the bench with a wealth of experience in law and extensive service to the community,” Evans added. “I have always known Judge Myles to be focused and determined in the pursuit of justice, and his conduct earned him the confidence and respect of the people who appeared before him. All of our colleagues at the Leighton Criminal Court Building will miss Judge Myles, who they came to know for his kindness and his impartial administration of justice.”
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