Family: Tevin Lee, charged in Shamiya Adams murder, worked for anti-violence program

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The teenager charged in the murder of 11-year-old Shamiya Adams in Chicago's West Garfield Park neighborhood appeared in court on Friday.

Police said Tevin Lee, 18, is a member of the Gangster Disciples street gang, and with no regard for life, he shot and killed an 11-year-old girl. He is charged with one count of first-degree murder, one count of felony murder and one count of aggravated discharge of a firearm.

But Lee's family offers a different picture of the teenager now charged in the killing of Shamiya Adams. Lee's godfather, Wallace Bryant, said he's a recent graduate of Crane High School who was on the basketball team. He had a 3.0 GPA and volunteered his time working with kids at Chalmer Elementary and with a summertime anti-violence program, Bryant said.

After his graduation from high school last month, Bryant said Lee picked up a paying summer job with an agency called "Healthy Families America." The program's principle mission is helping at-risk children, and is funded in part with state grant money. His godfather said that Lee was planning a career as a criminal justice information officer.

"His goal was to go to school, get into criminal justice, become a police officer. That's his goal now, well it was his goal until now he in jail," said Bryant.

Bryant says Lee would certainly stand up for his friends, but he wasn't the shooter who killed Shamiya Adams.

"Now they had everybody in jail, they had all these boys at first. Someone said 'Tevin done it.' No, I don't think Tevin done it," said Bryant.

"We've got this one guy under arrest. We're very confident, couldn't be more confident that we've got the right guy. But the investigation is ongoing," said Chicago Police Supt. Garry McCarthy.

Police and prosecutors say they have eyeball witnesses to last Friday's shooting, and that Lee admitted to a witness that he "thought he had shot..." one of his supposed targets, and that he had "gotten rid of the gun."

Lee was allegedly seeking retaliation after a 14-year-old friend was in a fight. Adding to what police say was an indiscriminate shooting, Lee didn't know who he was shooting at.

"Despite being told that the persons who attacked his friends were not present, this defendant drew a handgun and fired three to four shots in the direction of a group of boys," said Asst. State's Attorney Robert Mack.

Prosecutors say that witnesses at the scene identified Lee as a shooter, also picking him out of a lineup and photo array.

Lee is being held behind bars without bond.