Father Who Shot Drug Dealer Acquitted Of Murder
CHICAGO (STMW) -- South Side drug rehabilitation counselor charged with murder for shooting a man who tried to sell him narcotics in front of his children last year was found not guilty on Friday.
Elliot G. Mayfield, 51, of the 6000 block of South Calumet was found not guilty of murder by Judge Maura Slattery-Boyle, according to Cook County State's Attorney's office spokesman Andy Conklin.
On Feb. 7, 2010, Mayfield, a drug user turned counselor, was with his 11-year-old daughter, a 15-year-old stepdaughter and a friend when he shot Samuel Fullilove at a Woodlawn bus stop, prosecutors charged.
Mayfield was talking to another man, a former co-worker and client, at the bus stop at 6114 S. Martin Luther King Drive when Fullilove approached and tried to sell him drugs.
Mayfield, who had a 1990 drug conviction, refused and said, "I don't do that anymore. I am just trying to make sure that my daughters get home safely," a police report said.
But Fullilove,33, started yelling and taunting the older man, even taking a swing at Mayfield, though he didn't make contact.
Fullilove also got into one of "his daughter's faces,'' the report said, and Mayfield became angry.
Fullilove chased Mayfield and his daughter cried, "Leave my daddy alone," and Mayfield eventually pulled out a handgun and pointed it at Fullilove's face, the report said.
When the taunts continued, Mayfield shot Fullilove in the chest, then fled with the girls in the car of the former client he had been talking to.
Mayfield later called police and told them where he could be found, and also showed officers where he hid the .25 caliber semi-automatic handgun, the police report said.
Fullilove had an extensive criminal history, according to court records.
(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2010. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
