Man charged in 9-year-old girl's Portage Park shooting death denied bond
CHICAGO (WLS) -- The man charged with the murder of a 9-year-old Chicago girl was denied bond on Tuesday.
Despite being shot in the face during the weekend incident, 43-year-old Michael Goodman appeared in-person at the Leighton Criminal Courts building Tuesday afternoon.
He was dressed in a black T-shirt and green shorts.
The left side of his face was still healing from the incident.
No motive for the shooting was revealed during the hearing, but a Cook County judge did deny Goodman bond.
The defendant's public defender did not comment after the hearing, but in court asked for a reasonable bond, saying that her client has no criminal history.
Family and friends gathered near Serabi Medina's home in Portage Park Monday night for a vigil in her honor.
The vigil brought out family members and neighbors, as a street-side memorial continues to grow. It shows how much she loved her family and her dog.
Neighbor Jessica Marcotte said Medina and her dad had a strong bond.
"I'm very angry," Marcotte said. "I'm very angry, and I honestly don't even want to live here anymore because I work at the hospital but it's not, it's sad."
Chicago police said Medina was shot and killed Saturday night in the 3500-block of North Long Avenue at about 9:40 p.m.
The man charged with first-degree murder in the shooting is their neighbor.
During Tuesday's hearing, prosecutors said Medina's father was speaking to friends inside a car, and Medina was at an ice cream truck with her scooter, when they heard a gunshot.
Medina's father told her to go back home. That's when Goodman, who is known to police, walked out of his apartment building armed with a handgun, approached the group and shot Medina in the head on the sidewalk outside her home, officials said.
"The victim's father shouted at the defendant, asking what he was doing. The defendant ignored the victim's father and instead followed the victim towards the vestibule of her building," Cook County State's Attorney Anne McCord said. "While the victim's father ran to his daughter, he observed the defendant raise the firearm, point it at the victim and shoot the victim in the head."
When her father saw the gunman, he tried to stop him. During the struggle, witnesses said Goodman was shot in the face with his own gun.
"He saved other people because God only knows what that monster intended to do that night, how many lives he was going to take, and if it wasn't for Serabi's father, it could be a lot more," relative Angee Gonzalez Rodriguez said. "She had a full life. She had her whole life ahead of her. Serabi was a beautiful young vibrant little girl; she was friendly. She always smiled. She was kind."
The girl was taken to Stroger Hospital in critical condition, and she died a short time later, police said. Chicago police initially said Medina was 8, but a family friend later confirmed she was 9 years old.
Police found a bullet hole in a wall inside Goodman's apartment and a bullet casing, prosecutors said.
They said he has been a computer programmer for the last 20 years and has a FOID card.
Those who knew Medina, who went by the nickname "Bibi," said she was going into fourth grade and was looking forward to the start of school.
Medina's mother, 29-year-old Blanca Miranda, was shot and killed in 2018. Neighbors said the family moved to their Portage Park apartment shortly after her death.
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