Maywood man with extensive criminal history charged with fatal shooting of Family Dollar security officer, gunfire exchange with Chicago police the next day
CHICAGO — Charges have been brought against the man accused of killing a security guard at a Family Dollar store in the Austin neighborhood on Friday and then shooting at Chicago police officers in Dolton on Saturday.
Rodgerick Oneal, 36, of Maywood is accused of shooting Loyce Wright, 43, at the Family Dollar in the 5400 block of West Chicago Avenue just before 2 p.m. Friday. Wright later died at an area hospital from his gunshot wounds.
Oneal is also accused of exchanging gunfire Saturday evening in Dolton with officers investigating the Family Dollar shooting. Police say nobody was shot in that incident.
The multiple felony charges against Oneal include one count of first-degree murder, two counts of attempted first-degree murder and three counts of aggravated battery to a peace officer. He also has another felony charge, six misdemeanor counts and two issuances of warrant.
Additionally, police confirmed, Oneal was out on parole when he allegedly committed the crimes on Friday and Saturday.
The Chicago Police Department announced the charges against Oneal during a briefing late Tuesday morning at CPD headquarters, CPD Supt. Larry Snelling commending authorities for collaborating to apprehend Oneal quickly.
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“This was truly a department-wide effort to apprehend the suspect, from the patrol division, to the detectives, and to the Bureau of Counterterrorism,” Snelling said. “They all did what they could to bring justice to this case and the victim’s family.”
Oneal has an extensive criminal history, including burglary and narcotics-related convictions. He was most recently in prison for aggravated battery with a firearm, and a warrant was out for his arrest in Forest Park for attempted murder.
“(We) removed an extremely violent individual from our streets,” Snelling said. “There’s no doubt in my mind (that) if the Chicago Police Department, the detective division, had not acted so swiftly, this individual would’ve acted out viciously again, and we would’ve had more victims.”
In Friday’s incident, officers say they were called to the Family Dollar in Austin and found Wright suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. He later died at an area hospital, and the Cook County Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed his identity.
Wright’s family also confirmed to WGN-TV that he worked as a security guard at that Family Dollar.
“I want to extend our deepest condolences to the family of (Wright),” Snelling said Tuesday. “He was simply at the store doing his job when his life was tragically taken from him.”
Police say Oneal and Wright previously worked together at the Family Dollar.
“It appears that they may have had some sort of argument sometime prior,” CPD Chief of Detectives Antoinette Ursitti said Tuesday. “And so we believe that may be what was behind the shooting that took place.”
Police said investigators quickly identified Oneal as a suspect in the shooting. Then, on Saturday evening, police say a tip led officers to a home in the 15200 block of South Meadow Lane in Dolton where Oneal had been spotted.
After an exchange of gunfire broke out between officers and a suspect, Police took Oneal into custody and recovered a gun. A source told WGN-TV on Saturday that the suspect may have been connected to Friday’s fatal Family Dollar shooting.
Now, charges have been brought against Oneal, and Snelling praised detectives Tuesday, saying they “wasted no time in identifying this offender.” He thanked the homicide investigation support team and 15th District officers “for their courage” in surveilling and apprehending Oneal, despite allegedly being shot at.
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“They did surveillance knowing that they were coming in contact with a very, very violent offender,” Snelling said. “They put their lives, they put themselves, at risk to do the surveillance to apprehend this individual.
“We want everyone in the city to know that we’re working as hard as we can to keep this city safe and to reduce the number of victims of violent crimes in this city.”
According to the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office, Oneal was in the hospital Tuesday and was not in court. His expected court date for a detention hearing is now Friday, March 1, the state’s attorney’s office says.
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