Murder charge filed after raid on Harvey police

[Pedro56]

Task force seized evidence records, arrests suspect

January 28, 2007
BY LAUREN FITZPATRICK Daily Southtown

A Harvey man was charged in a year-old unsolved murder in the south suburb Saturday, just three days after Cook County and state investigators seized evidence files in a raid on the police station there.

Brian Barry, 23, was charged with firing a bullet into Willie Darling's head on Feb. 25, 2006, outside a dice game in the 200 block of West 154th Street, according to sources close to the investigation.

The arrest was made by a task force of state and county investigators set up to look into the backlog of unsolved murders in Harvey.

Barry and Darling already were arguing over a girlfriend the night of the dice game, when Darling hit a winning streak, the sources said. Barry, who at the time lived in the 300 block of 154th Street, allegedly lured Darling outside, shot him and stole his money back, the sources said.

Darling's death was ruled a homicide, but the case languished in the hands of Harvey detectives, who didn't solve a single murder in 2005.

38 of 50 murders unsolved

Darling's blood was found on Barry's shoes, and a bullet removed from the victim's head matched a weapon connected to Barry, the sources said. Barry is expected to appear at the Markham Courthouse this morning.

Cook County prosecutors and Illinois State Police entered the Harvey police station Wednesday afternoon, seizing evidence and files from unsolved murder cases. The raid, according to sources, also led to a shakeup within the department, including the promotion of a mayoral bodyguard once fired for incompetence.

The city of 30,000 has been plagued by about 50 murders during the last four years; 38 had remained unsolved.

Contributing: Daily Southtown reporter William Lee

Sun-Times News Group

[Pedro56]

That town should be nuked. I would quit the department if it took an outside police agency to actually bring charges on someone. That place is a disgrace to police departments everywhere.

[Lazy Fed]

Wow....

[Ducky]

It looks like in this case the legwork's been done (evidence collected, weapon traced, etc) but they didn't go forward with the arrest?