Kamari Belmont

Kamari Belmont was a 23-year-old Black man who, despite a history of legal troubles, was remembered by friends as funny and kind. A close friend who considered him a brother described him as a nice person who would help a neighbor carry in her groceries. Above all, he was a father who loved his young daughter, who was about to celebrate her third birthday. He had attended Dunbar High School in Chicago and later graduated from an alternative school. His family was looking forward to his homecoming after he had spent nearly two years in jail.

In May 2015, Belmont and two other men, Terrance Hogan and Khalil Powell, were arrested and charged in connection with two armed robberies that occurred within an hour of each other on Chicago's South Side. During the first robbery, in the 3700 block of South Vincennes, a 40-year-old man named Sorrell Marshall was shot in the leg and groin. Marshall died from his injuries three weeks later. Belmont and his co-defendants were initially charged with attempted murder and armed robbery. For reasons that remain unclear, prosecutors waited nearly a year, until April 2016, to upgrade the charges to first-degree murder. By then, Belmont had invoked his right to a speedy trial. On January 27, 2017, a judge ruled that the state had violated the 120-day speedy trial statute, and the murder charges against Belmont were dismissed. The Cook County State’s Attorney’s office, then under Kim Foxx, called the situation an "error" that occurred under the previous administration. Belmont remained in jail on the second armed robbery charge, with a bond set at $100,000.

On the evening of March 6, 2017, a friend posted the required $10,000 to secure Belmont's release from Cook County Jail. At 11:12 p.m., a surveillance camera recorded Belmont, clutching a gray hoodie, as he walked through a metal turnstile and out of the jail complex. He got into a car with two friends and they drove south on California Avenue. Just minutes later, at 11:43 p.m., a white SUV pulled alongside their vehicle less than a mile from the jail. Someone inside the SUV opened fire, unleashing a hail of bullets.

Belmont was struck multiple times in his back and torso. He collapsed in the street in the 3300 block of South California Avenue. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 11:57 p.m., just 45 minutes after tasting freedom for the first time in almost two years. The white SUV sped away from the scene, ran a red light, and crashed into another car near Interstate 55. The occupants of the SUV abandoned the vehicle and fled on foot, escaping into the night.

The Chicago Police Department launched a homicide investigation. At the scene, detectives recovered twenty shell casings that came from at least two different handguns, suggesting a planned and determined attack. Sources indicated that police suspected the shooting was a targeted hit. Belmont had been identified in court records as a member of the 4-6 Terror faction of the Gangster Disciples, and investigators believed he may have been targeted by a rival gang.

Belmont’s attorney, Michael Johnson, who had known the family for years, expressed shock and sorrow. He had recently spoken with Belmont in jail as the family worked to gather the bond money. "I told him, once he gets out he’s got to get out of the neighborhood," Johnson said. He did not believe the killing was retribution for Sorrell Marshall's death, stating that the 2015 robbery was not gang-related and that he didn't know how anyone would have known the exact time of Belmont's release. He said the family was devastated by online comments applauding the killing.

The case drew attention to the complexities of the legal system and the violent realities of Chicago's streets. While police sources pointed toward a gang motive, Belmont's own lawyer questioned the theory, leaving open the question of whether the shooting was a coincidence, a robbery gone wrong, or a carefully orchestrated assassination. As of the latest reports, no arrests have been made in the murder of Kamari Belmont, and his case remains unsolved.