Judge orders teen's arrest in murder of retired Chicago police bomb technician

The 16-year-old boy suspected of killing retired Chicago police officer Larry Neuman was arrested Tuesday after prosecutors described a brazen daylight shooting outside Neuman's Garfield Park home.

The teenager, Lazarious Watt, was identified in video surveillance by four witnesses who knew him in the neighborhood, authorities told a Cook County judge during a detention hearing at the Leighton Criminal Court building. Watt, a Garfield Park resident who has pending juvenile cases, was charged as an adult with first-degree murder in connection with the shooting death of Neuman after he surrendered.

“The defendant poses a threat to the community due to his actions,” Judge Antara Rivera said in ordering Neuman’s detention. “Everyone should feel safe in their home, whether they are inside or outside, and the defendant violated that.”

Prosecutors said Neuman, 73, was outside his home last Thursday in the 4300 block of West Monroe Street, preparing to pay a man who had helped him mow his lawn when he was approached by two armed men wearing ski masks.

As Neuman reached for his gun, one of the gunmen fired. The authorities stated that they still looking for this suspect. As the witness ran to escape, he saw Watt point his gun at Neuman, and Neuman fired a single bullet in return, prosecutors alleged. The masked gunmen then ran into an alley.

Neuman fell to the ground after suffering multiple gunshot wounds to the chest and leg, and was pronounced dead a short time later at Stroger Hospital. The Cook County medical examiner's office ruled his death a homicide.

Neuman served in the U.S. Marines, retired as the police department's longest-serving explosives technician and spoke out against violent crime as a pastor after leaving the department, the police commissioner said Larry Snelling.

Snelling called Neuman's killing a “brazen and senseless act of violence” and said Neuman “would have done anything he could” to help a teenager who was at risk of being involved in a violent crime.

Police video recovered from surveillance cameras which showed Watt and the other suspect walking from Neuman's home through the neighborhood. Prosecutors said the shooting itself was also filmed remotely, but specific details could not be seen.

Just before the shooting, another witness was riding his bike past Neuman's house and saw two people coming out of the alley. Prosecutors said the witness identified Watt in a lineup as one of those people. Another neighbor also observed the two men running in a vacant lot, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said that at the time of the shooting, Watt was on court-ordered home detention after repeatedly violating an electronic monitoring agreement in a separate juvenile court case, facing possession charges of a stolen motor vehicle and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon. He is also expected to be charged with carjacking in an incident in March, prosecutors said.

Watt's public defender, Molly Schranz, questioned the quality of the surveillance footage and whether Watt's identification could have been motivated by the “substantial” reward. She described Watt as an active community member who works part time and goes to school, and showed he was willing to cooperate with the investigation by turning himself in.

Prosecutors responded that there is more than enough video evidence and eyewitnesses to implicate Watt.

“The video captured of this defendant and the co-defendant immediately prior were in the area with heavy objects in both of their pockets,” said Assistant State's Attorney Anne McCord. “You know what heavy objects are: guns.”