No bail for man charged with murder in hit-and-run that left 3 dead outside Jeffery Pub last week

A man charged with murder in connection with a hit-and-run outside the Jeffery Pub, which led to the death of three men Aug. 14, is believed to have been overheard saying, “I got something for you, you m-----f------,” before allegedly plowing his cousin’s vehicle into the group, according to investigators.

Tavis Dunbar, 34, of the 7000 block of South Emerald Avenue in Englewood, was arrested in the 5100 block of South Wentworth Avenue, also in Englewood, and charged with three counts of first-degree murder and one count of attempted first-degree murder, according to Chicago police. He appeared in bond court Tuesday where Judge Susana Ortiz ordered him held without bail.

During a Tuesday morning news conference, police Superintendent David Brown said Dunbar had been identified as the person who allegedly “intentionally struck multiple pedestrians” outside the Jeffery Pub, 7041 S. Jeffery Blvd., about 5 a.m. earlier this month.

Killed in the hit-and-run were Donald Huey, 25; Devonta Vivetter, 27; and Jaylen Ausley, 23. The three men had been accompanied by a fourth person as they stood in the street outside the bar around closing time.

“In the minutes before the murders the bar was closing down and the (four victims) were involved in an altercation on the sidewalk in front of the bar. The fight spilled into Jeffery Boulevard,” according to prosecutors, who said Dunbar had been seen inside the bar and was identifiable because of his braided hairstyle.

A witness who had been in the bar and outside it after closing overheard a Black man with braids “say, ‘I got something for you, you m-----f------.’ ” The witness then saw that person walk north on Jeffery in the direction of the vehicle Dunbar had been using that night, according to prosecutors during Dunbar’s bond hearing.

Dunbar has a history of violence, according to prosecutors. He had previously been sentenced to two years in prison on an aggravated battery conviction for choking his 11-year-old brother and hitting him over the head with a curtain rod and, separately, he was sentenced to five years in prison for an aggravated battery conviction after beating a person who owed him money over the head with a baseball bat, according to the Cook County state’s attorney’s office.

Dunbar turned himself in to investigators Monday morning, accompanied by a lawyer, and “invoked his right to remain silent,” according to Chief of Detectives Brendan Deenihan, who also spoke during the news conference.

“This senseless act of violence won’t be tolerated in the city of Chicago,” Brown said. “Together with the community we were able to bring justice to these victims and their families.”

Brown said investigators share the credit with concerned community members who provided tips with authorities, saying: “And this arrest was the result of hard work done by the men and women of the Chicago Police Department and true community collaboration. From the beginning, community members stepped forward and spoke up to help us hold this (man) accountable.”

State’s Attorney Kim Foxx, who joined police at the news conference, said prosecutors filed a motion that he be held without bail.

“This was a horrific, horrific tragedy here in the city of Chicago. The loss of three innocent lives at the hands of Mr. Dunbar,” Foxx said.

Deenihan said detectives quickly located the vehicle used in the attack; when located, at least one air bag had been deployed, the windshield was shattered and the hood appeared to be raised.

Investigators also were able to locate the vehicle’s black box, which proved it had been traveling at a high rate of speed, he said.

“The gas pedal was completely deployed to the ground. He never attempted to tap the breaks,” Deenihan said.

Dunbar was not the registered owner of the vehicle that was found early in the investigation, officials said. The vehicle had not been reported stolen by its owner, however.

Authorities were able to determine Dunbar had been inside the Jeffery Pub prior to the crash, but “he had not been involved in any altercation inside the bar or outside on the street,” Deenihan said.

An apparent argument and physical fight was in part captured on the same video that showed the horrific crash. The attack made national news once the video of the crash began to circulate online, showing three of four men who were hit traveling many yards through the air as an apparent result of the impact.

“Certainly, we want to provide comfort to the community in which this horrific incident has occurred, and lastly, for those who saw this video who were not there on scene, but what it has done to our city, to our reputation, certainly, we want to be able to demonstrate that we will hold those who commit these acts accountable,” Foxx added.

Deenihan said Dunbar had not been charged with a hate crime, even though in the little more than a week since the crash, some activists have publicly questioned whether it was an intentional, homophobic attack, which took place outside the city’s oldest gay bar.

But legal experts say proving a hate crime in a court of law can be a tall order and that the charge or legal enhancement itself doesn’t necessarily add much in terms of prison sentence.

“I understand why people want to charge the hate crime aspect of something. It helps them feel better about what’s happening, but for the prosecutor’s side, (they have) to prove the crime,” said David Erickson, a veteran trial prosecutor at the Leighton Criminal Court Building and retired Illinois appellate judge who teaches criminal law at Chicago-Kent College of Law. Erickson explained prosecutors would have to prove the attacker’s specific motive for committing the crime.

“Once you put the hate crime tag on there, it makes it much more difficult to convict because (for) a hate crime you have to have specific intent,” said Erickson, who held numerous posts with the Cook County state’s attorney, including deputy chief of special prosecution, trial supervisor and top assistant to former State’s Atty. Dick Devine.

“The only way you can prove specific intent In the criminal law — I can’t cut open your head and look for words of specific intent in your brain — I can only prove that by what you say and what you do,” Erikson explained.