Accused gunman refuses release for murder of Chicago police officer Enrique Martinez

CHICAGO (CBS) – The defendant Shooting and killing of Chicago police officer Enrique Martinez was ordered to remain in jail pending trial when he made his first court appearance Thursday.

Darion McMillian, 23, is calculated with one count each of first-degree murder of a police officer, first-degree murder, attempted murder of a police officer, residential burglary, unlawful use of a weapon – particularly a machine gun – and aggravated unlawful use of a weapon by a felon.

Not only is he accused of killing Officer Martinez during a traffic stop Monday night, but so is 23-year-old Mario Chambers, the driver of the car McMillian was in.

Dozens of officers formed a human shield around Martinez’s family in the courtroom Thursday, blocking hallways so McMillian couldn’t see the fallen officer’s relatives as he went before a judge to face charges.

“It’s hard being in there. I mean, I’m shaking right now. It’s just … it’s hard for us and it’s becoming more and more common,” said Officer Carlos Yanez Jr., who was wounded in August of the same year in the 2021 shooting that killed his partner Ella French.

Cook County Judge Deidre Dyer ordered McMillian incarcerated in the Cook County Jail while he awaits trial, ruling that he is a danger not only to the community but also to his own friends. The judge also said there was no reason why McMillian should have carried a gun since he was a convicted felon.

Prosecutors said Martinez and his partner responded to a call in the East Chatham neighborhood Monday evening.

That call turned out to be a hoax, but while they were in the area, they saw a Ford Escape double-parked in the 8000 block of South Ingleside Avenue. Martinez approached the driver’s side while his partner sat on the passenger side.

Prosecutors said McMillian was sitting in the passenger seat of the car when officers approached, noticing him reaching for a backpack at his feet.

Officers repeatedly ordered him to stop, but instead McMillian produced a .40-caliber handgun equipped with a machine gun conversion device and an extended magazine.

When McMillian shot Martinez, prosecutors also shot his own friend Chambers, who was driving.

Prosecutors said Martinez was shot five times. Chambers was shot multiple times in the face.

After shooting Martinez and Chambers, prosecutors say McMillian pushed Chambers out of the car, climbed into the driver’s seat and drove away, dragging Martinez’s partner with him, whose gun exploded in the process.

“Stingy enough to kill his own employee and push him out of the car like a dead piece of meat; That’s what we see on the streets,” said Chicago Fraternal Order Police Chief John Catanzara.

After fleeing the scene of the shooting, McMillian later crashed his car and ran into a woman’s apartment, according to prosecutors.

“Witness 2 observed the defendant attempting to cut off the electronic monitoring bracelet he was wearing. “The defendant told Witness 2 that he had done something bad and he needed a sharper knife,” said Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Ann McCord.

McMillian was on electronic monitoring at the time of the shooting for a drug test-related arrest.

Prosecutors said that after McMillian was arrested, 14 shell casings were found in the car, cocaine was found on McMillian and baby bottles filled with codeine were found in the front floor of the car.

McMillian is due back in court on November 26th.

Martinez was the second Chicago police officer killed in the line of duty this year. Officer Luis Huesca was shot in April when he came home from his shift.

Martinez was engaged. Preparations for his funeral are still pending.