Prosecutors said they had unsealed grand jury indictments against former Waukegan police officer Dante Salinas concerning the shooting that killed Marcellis Stinnette and injured his girlfriend, Tafara Williams.
Authorities announced on Thursday that a former suburban Chicago police officer had been charged with second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter after firing into a car two years ago, killing a Black man and gravely wounding the deceased’s girlfriend.
The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced in a news release that it had unsealed grand jury indictments against former Waukegan police Officer Dante Salinas in connection with the shooting that killed a 19-year-old local man, Marcellis Stinnette, and injured his girlfriend, Tafara Williams, on Oct. 20, 2020.
Salinas was also charged with aggravated violence inflicting grievous bodily injury and governmental misconduct.
According to authorities, on the night of the incident, another Waukegan officer stopped the couple’s car and interviewed them when Williams abruptly drove away. The police chased them, and Salinas answered his request for assistance by joining the chase.
In a press release Thursday, the Lake County State’s Attorney’s office claimed that Williams drove off a roadway and wrecked, then placed her car in reverse to flee the scene.
According to the news release, Salinas had stepped out of his squad car and was not in the path of Williams’ automobile, but he “fired several bullets into the driver’s side of the vehicle as it continued to reverse past him.”
Williams was hurt, and Stinnette, who authorities claimed had done nothing wrong, was slain.
According to Lake County State’s Attorney Eric Rinehart, an expert evaluating the trajectory of the rounds was able to pinpoint the position of Salinas and the trajectory of his shots.
Prosecutors said Salinas surrendered to police on Thursday, and a judge ordered him jailed on $350,000 bail. Second-degree murder has a maximum punishment of 20 years in prison, whereas manslaughter carries a maximum sentence of five years. If Salinas is guilty on both counts, his sentences will run consecutively.
When contacted by phone, Douglas Zeit, the attorney who defended Salinas in court on Thursday, declined to comment.
Williams faces aggravated evading charges. She also surrendered to authorities, and a judge ordered her release on a $50,000 recognizance bail.
