A Cook County judge on Wednesday ordered a fast-food worker held in custody days after surveillance video captured him fatally shooting two men inside a Southwest Side restaurant, though prosecutors provided no clues to what may have sparked the violent outburst.
Mehdi Medellel, 42, of South Shore, faces two counts of first-degree murder related to Monday night’s fatal shooting inside the J&J Fish and Chicken restaurant in the 7800 block of South Western Avenue in the Ashburn neighborhood.
Before Judge Caroline Glennon-Goodman at the Leighton Criminal Court Building, prosecutors described only a brief interaction between Medellel and one of the victims, while the second victim had no direct interaction with Medellel.
Prior to the shooting, the restaurant’s cook told authorities that he saw Medellel with a handgun in the business’ back kitchen.
Around 10:15 p.m., one of the victims entered the restaurant with a suitcase and showed Medellel the contents of the suitcase, Assistant State’s Attorney Anne McCord Rodgers told the court. Medellel then walked to the rear of the restaurant and returned moments later with a handgun.
Rodgers’ account of the shooting matched video posted to social media appearing to show the shooting, though law enforcement had not verified it.
In the video, as one man rummaged through an open suitcase in the restaurant’s dining area, a second man sat at a table with his back to the first man.
A man dressed in a black walks into the frame of the camera and raises a handgun to the first victim, who backed up with his hands up. The man in black approaches and fires a single shot into the man’s head and the victim crumples to the floor.
As the second victim appeared to scoot his chair away from the gunfire, the gunman shot him once in the head while he was still seated in his chair. After shooting the men, the gunman briefly walked into a side room and then out of the restaurant.
The cook heard the shots and ran out the rear of the restaurant and called police. Officers arrested Medellel about 30 minutes after the shooting. Both the cook and the restaurant’s owner identified Medellel, prosecutors said.
Police said Medellel made statements to investigators after being read his rights and led officers to a dumpster where they recovered the handgun. Ballistic tests on the handgun were pending, Rodgers said.
Both victims were pronounced dead inside the business. While prosecutors only identified the victims by their ages, Medellel’s arrest report identified the men as Paul Williams, 55, of Englewood, and David Swick, 55, of southwest suburban Crestwood. Prosecutors listed Williams as 57 and Swick as 56.
The judge approved the prosecution’s request for detention, calling the surveillance video clear and convincing evidence, while calling Medellel a threat to the public.
He is scheduled to return to court Oct. 29.