No Bail For Duo Accused Bridgeview Secretary of State Shooting

BRIDGEVIEW — A Cook County assistant state’s attorney asked that two men accused of gunning down another man at a Secretary of State driver’s facility earlier this week be held without bail in an act he described as “cold, calculated and premeditated.”

Matthew Givens, 23, of Lansing, and Cortez Hudson, 22, of Oak Park, appeared before Cook County Judge Linzey Jones on charges of first degree murder and vehicular hijacking. If convicted, both men face natural life sentences.

In the early afternoon of March 24, the prosecutor said that Jawaun L. Davis, 21, a member of the Gangster Disciples, went to the Secretary of State driver’s facility, 7358 W. 87th St. Davis waited several hours in a line that extended outside the building.

>>> Man Fatally Shot Outside Bridgeview SOS Facility Identified: Cops

Hudson and Givens, said to be members of the rival Black Disciples, had arrived 3o minutes earlier in Hudson’s mother’s red Nissan Sentra, along with Hudson’s 6-year-old brother. Both men were wearing face masks. The prosecutor said Hudson got out of the car and walked past Davis who was standing in line. Hudson turned around and fired a 9mm gun with an extended clip at Davis, hitting him several times, according to the charges.

After a moment’s pause, Givens allegedly fired a .40 caliber Glock at Davis, who grabbed his chest and fell to the ground, a witness told police. The prosecutor said that a total of 23 shots were fired at Davis, who was unarmed. The gravely injured Davis was rushed to Advocate Christ Medical Center where he was pronounced dead.

Gunfire was recorded on several nearby business security cameras. Additionally, the prosecutor said the video captured two shooters in a red sedan fleeing the scene. A witness told police he saw some men standing outside a red car scanning the line outside the driver’s facility. As the witness walked back to the DMV entrance. He saw one of the same men standing by the red car firing an automatic weapon at the line of people. The witness stated the shooting paused momentarily, then heard a second round of gunfire. He said he saw Davis grab his chest and crumple to the ground. The man was able to identify Givens in a police photo as one of the alleged shooters.

A second witness, who was in the parking lot at the time of the shooting, heard several rounds of gunfire. The first round of gunfire was a series of shots, with a brief pause, and then a second round of gunfire, which was in rapid succession. The second witness also identified Givens in a police photo, the prosecutor said.

A third witness told police she was in the parking lot facing the building when she heard gunshots. She said saw a man shooting at another man, and then heard a second volley of gunfire, the prosecutor said. Another witness said he saw Givens run into a red Nissan Sentra and that left the parking lot.

After they left the parking lot, the prosecutor said surveillance video captured a red Nissan Sentra driving east on 87th Street to Cicero Avenue. By that time, descriptions of the suspects and vehicle had already been broadcast to police. An Oak Lawn police officer spotted the car driving erratically and pulled up behind it. The car did not stop and fled the area through several towns, weaving in and out of oncoming traffic, the prosecutor said.

The car entered I-294 and exited on 95th Street pursued by police. At 1:51 p.m., police briefly lost sight of the car, until it was spotted a minute later in the area of 97th Street and Roberts Road. Givens and Hudson got out of the Nissan with Hudson’s 6-year-old brother in tow. Hudson approached the owner of a Tesla who was showing his car to a friend. The prosecutor said that Hudson point a gun at the Tesla owner announced a carjacking. The Tesla owner and his friend both stepped to the side.

Hudson, his little brother and Givens both hopped a nearby fence, where Hudson dropped the keys to the Nissan, according to the prosecutor. Hudson is also said to have tossed a gun over the fence. The Tesla owner followed them to the fence to try to find the gun. Another neighbor saw Givens pick up the gun and proceed into the neighborhood by himself, the prosecutor said.

Police found Hudson and his brother near 97th Street and 81st Court, within minutes of the attempted carjacking. Givens was found in the next block, where he had apparently tossed the guns, a 9mm and a .40 caliber Glock, the prosecutor said. Givens was also seen on home surveillance video talking on a red cell phone while walking through the yard.

A saved image on Givens’ phone, taken an hour before the alleged shooting, provided the address of the Bridgeview DMV and was a screenshot of a group of men on video, one of them holding up the address to the driver’s facility. The prosecutor said the phone was also found to be pinging from the driver’s facility during the time of the shooting.

The prosecutor told the judge that Givens has a pending residential burglary case out of the Markham Courthouse, and has a pending misdemeanor theft charge and three bond forfeitures from 2020.

Hudson was convicted of two separate cases aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and was released on parole in 2019. Since then, the prosecutor said Hudson has been arrested for domestic battery and is wanted on a bond forfeiture warrant from 2019.

Hudson’s attorney, Michael Clancy, said there was no evidence that there were just two people in the or a child in the car at the time of the shooting.

“Police officers lost sign of this car for a certain amount of time and I don’t believe saw or anyone witnessed who got out of this car at what point after the shooting and two of the individuals who got out of the car,” Clancy said.

The judge ordered both men to be held without bail. Givens will come back in seven days for a bond review. Both men are due back in court April 23.