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The former Waukegan police officer who fatally shot a 19-year-old black man, Marcellis Stinnette, has been charged with second-degree murder. He is also facing charges in another incident, Lake County authorities announced on Thursday, September 22.
Reportedly, Dante Salinas, 39, has been charged with three counts of second-degree murder in the Marcellis Stinnette case. He has also been charged with one count of involuntary manslaughter of Stinnette's 20-year-old girlfriend Tafarra Williams, who was gravely injured in the shooting that took place on October 20, 2020.
Following Stinnette's death, Salinas' service was terminated by the Waukegan Police Department. He served in the department for five years as an officer before the shooting.
A look at the shooting that unfortunately killed a local man Marcellis Stinnette
In the 2020 incident, a different Waukegan officer stopped the couple's car and was interviewing them the night of the incident for a traffic-stop investigation. Soon after, Williams abruptly left the scene and Salinas heeded the officer's plea for assistance and joined the operation as he pursued them, reports suggested.
Shortly after, Williams attempted to flee after she ran off the road and damaged her car by reversing it.
According to the statement, Salinas had exited his squad car and was out of Williams' car's way, however, he “fired several shots into the driver’s side of the vehicle as it continued to reverse past him."
Reportedly, the cop who fired the bullets is shown in a video released by the city of Waukegan turning on his body camera only after the shots were fired.
Lake County State's Attorney Eric Rinehart said:
"Marcellis Stinnette was a passenger in Ms. Williams' car and committed no crimes, neither Stinnette or Williams had no weapons."
Additionally, Rinehart claimed that because the former officer's bodycam was switched off during the incident, it took time to bring the family justice despite their public pressure for charges against Salinas for two years.
Marcellis Stinnette's grandmother, Sherrellis Stinnette, said:
"I am just glad that the police officer has been charged with my grandson's death, the murder and I'm glad that we are seeking justice and my heart is filled with joy."
Williams' mother, Clifftina Johnson mentioned:
"Be mindful because at the end of the day, she's still a human being, the officer is a human being, regardless how we feel about the situation, it took a long time but we forgive him."
According to court documents, Williams was charged on Wednesday with aggravated fleeing to evade.
Salinas is still being detained in custody and is scheduled to show up in bond court on Thursday afternoon.
Dante Salinas is also accused of using a firearm to restrain Angel Salgado during an arrest on August 31, 2019, leading to two counts of official misconduct and one count of aggravated battery causing bodily harm.
