PORTAGE PARK — A man has been charged with shooting a U.S. marshal and police dog on the Far Northwest Side and will soon appear in federal court.
Tarrion C. Johnson, 19, of Portage Park, has been charged with using a dangerous and deadly weapon to assault a senior inspector U.S. Marshal and discharging a firearm “during a crime of violence,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The charges were announced last week, and Johnson will appear in court July 5.
The incident happened during a June 2 standoff between Johnson and police at his apartment in the 5200 block of West Belmont Avenue, prosecutors said.
The shooting led to more than 50 police officers sealing off a commercial strip with furniture stores, restaurants and grocery stores along Belmont Avenue, between Laramie and Lockwood avenues, for hours.
Officers were attempting to arrest Johnson on a warrant for attempted murder and attempted robbery, prosecutors said. Officers surrounded Johnson’s home and told him to surrender, but he didn’t respond, so they forced their way in, prosecutors said.
A Chicago police officer saw Johnson run into a room and come back with a gun, so the officer yelled, “Gun,” and fired two shots at Johnson, prosecutors said.
Johnson ran back into the side room and fired shots out the window into an alley where the U.S. marshal and his dog were standing, prosecutors said. The bullets hit the marshal’s ballistics vest and his finger and the dog’s shoulder, prosecutors said.
Johnson went back into the apartment’s living room, and he and the Chicago police officer exchanged gunfire, prosecutors said. He shot the officer’s ballistic shield and tried to run away, prosecutors said.
Officers arrested Johnson. He faces at least 10 years in prison for the gun charge and 20 years for the assault charge if convicted, prosecutors said.
The marshal was shot in his finger. The dog was hit in the shoulder, and the bullet splintered, leaving fragments in the dog’s lung, prosecutors said.
The dog was hospitalized at MedVet Chicago for treatment but has since been released and is recuperating, Joseph Fitzpatrick, assistant U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said in an email.
“He’s receiving weekly veterinary checkups,” Fitzpatrick said.
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