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Robber Killed By Store Owner Was Suspect In Shooting Of Cop

CHICAGO (STMW) -- A parolee shot and killed by a South Side store owner during an attempted robbery Tuesday evening was a prime suspect in a shooting that wounded a south suburban police last month.

Harvey detectives had been searching for Demarcus Brandon for almost three weeks after receiving information that he was possibly the gunman who wounded Officer Robert Rolfe in November, police announced Thursday.

On Tuesday, armed with a handgun, Brandon tried to rob a cell phone store about 6:30 p.m. in the 1700 block of East 87th Street, authorities said.

The store's owner, armed with a handgun himself, shot and killed him, authorities said.

Brandon, of the of 120 block of East 140th Court in Riverdale, was pronounced dead at the scene, the Cook County Medical Examiner's office said.

An autopsy Wednesday found Brandon died of multiple gunshot wounds and his death was ruled a homicide, according to the medical examiner's office. The store owner was not injure, and police say no charges will likely be filed against him.

Harvey police believe items found at Tuesday's crime scene, including the gun, are the same used in the shooting of Officer Robert Rolfe, wounded while responding to a robbery Nov. 24 at 159th and Wood Street in Harvey.

Police are awaiting the results of a ballistics test to confirm the connection.

Brandon was paroled in July from the Shawnee Correctional Center, according to Illinois Department of Corrections records.

In 2007, he was arrested while fleeing the scene of an armed robbery attempt in Dolton, according to Harvey police. During the chase, he entered Harvey and pointed his gun in the direction of an officer, who shot him in the neck.

Brandon survived the gunshot wound and was convicted of armed robbery, armed violence and unlawful use of a weapon. He was sentenced to concurrent prison terms of 3 and 13 years, but was paroled in July, according to IDOC records.

Harvey's mayor said he should never have been paroled.

"While I'm grateful that this nightmare has come to an end, I'm equally outraged concerning our gun laws that allowed this coward to walk the streets early," Mayor Eric J. Kellogg said in the statement.

"Something must be done. Our residents our unsafe as well as our hard working policemen. I join Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel in calling upon the state legislature to work harder in strengthening the current gun laws," Kellogg said.

Rolfe, a six-year police veteran, has been recovering at home since the shooting.

(Source: Sun-Times Media Wire © Chicago Sun-Times 2013. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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