Police Unsure If Murdered Cook County Judge Was Initial Target

CHICAGO, IL — A Cook County judge was killed Monday morning outside his South Side home after confronting a man who had moments earlier shot and wounded a 52-year-old woman, according to Chicago police. Judge Raymond Myles, 66, was shot multiple times at his home, and the woman — identified as a close associate of the judge — suffered a non-life threatening gunshot wound to her leg, police said. Investigators don't know if the judge was the initial target, but they are looking at the possibility that the incident might have been a robbery-turned-shooting.

The shooting happened just before 5 a.m. Monday, April 10, at Myles' residence in the 9400 block of South Forest Avenue in the West Chesterfield neighborhood, according to Chief of Detectives Melissa Staples. The woman was walking out of the home, on her way to work out, when she was confronted by an unidentified man with a gun. Words were exchanged between the two before the woman was shot in the leg, Staples said.

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Hearing the commotion and the gunshot, Myles came from inside the home to investigate. The judge also had words with the suspect before being shot multiple times, according to Staples. The shooter then fled the scene on foot, and after a review of security and other video footage from the area, investigators believe the suspect ran to a nearby car, she said.

The woman called 911, and both victims were taken to Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn. Myles was pronounced dead at the hospital, and the woman was listed in serious condition.

Detectives are "investigating a multitude of possible leads" surrounding the motive behind the shooting, and it's unclear whether Myles was the suspect's original target or if the killing was connected to his role as a judge, Staples said. Threats had been made against the judge in the past, but police don't know if those are connected to the shooting, and Staples refused to comment further about it.

Police also were unsure if a 2-year-old altercation during a traffic accident between Myles and another driver had any relation to Monday's incident, Staples said. In 2015, the judge was attacked and seriously hurt when a man punched him in the face while the two drivers got out of their cars to assess the damage after a minor crash, according to the Chicago Tribune. Myles suffered a broken nose and other injuries that required reconstructive surgery, the report added.

Staples would not give details concerning the conversation between the woman and the shooter, but she said investigators don't believe the victim knew the suspect. Although nothing appears to have been stolen from either victim, police are looking at robbery as a potential motive, Staples added. She said there has been a pattern of robberies in the area of the shooting, but police don't know if they're related.

The FBI is offering a $25,000 reward for any information leading to the apprehension of the suspect. Anyone with information about the shooting should contact detectives at 312-747-8272.

A longtime associated judge in the Cook County Circuit Court's Criminal Division, Myles had been connected with two big-name cases in the Chicago area over the years. In 2008, he ordered William Ballfour held without bail in connection with the murders of members of singer and actress Jennifer Hudson's family, the report stated. Two suspects in the 1993 Brown's Chicken slaying appeared before the judge after their indictments in 2002, the report added.

WATCH: Chicago police discuss the fatal shooting of Cook County Judge Raymond Myles during a press conference Monday:

UPDATED (11:59 a.m. Monday, April 10)

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