Slaying suspect in U.S. illegally
Cops say gang boss, a Kenyan, had an expired visa

By Kristen Kridel
Tribune staff reporter

June 29, 2007

A reputed street gang leader accused of ordering that gunshots be fired near a playground, fatally wounding a 13-year-old girl, was living illegally in the U.S., prosecutors said Thursday.

Mwenda Murithi, a Kenyan native, came to the United States in 1999 on a student visa that has expired, said Assistant State's Atty. Maria McCarthy. He attended the University of Wisconsin at Platteville or three years, she said.

"Oh, my gosh, that makes it even worse," said Rita Sallie, whose daughter, Schanna Gayden, died in the gang shooting.

Murithi, one of two men charged with first-degree murder in the shooting, saw his bail set Thursday at $2 million. Cook County Circuit Judge Laura Sullivan denied bail to Tony Serrano, who prosecutors say fired the 9 mm handgun Monday at Funston Elementary School's playground.

Murithi, 26, and Serrano, 19, both reputed members of the Imperial Gangsters, intended the shots to hit members of a rival Spanish gang, YLO Cobras, police said. Central Park Avenue, which runs through the neighborhood, is the dividing line between the gangs' territories, McCarthy said.

Rival gang members stood on opposite sides of the road, taunting each other, McCarthy said. On instructions from Murithi, Serrano retrieved a handgun from the ceiling of his basement and brought it to the park, she said.

Murithi told Serrano to give him the gun, but Serrano refused, McCarthy said. On instructions from Murithi, Serrano fired multiple shots, the prosecutor said.

No one else fired, the prosecutor said. Police recovered six 9 mm shell casings from the area.

Witnesses identified Serrano as the shooter, and Serrano later told a witness that he fired at the Cobras because they were entering Imperial Gangster territory, McCarthy said. Others told authorities that they heard Murithi telling Serrano to shoot at the Cobras, she said.

"Some of the witnesses have courageously provided information," McCarthy said. "Gang murders happen all the time in the city. When a case like this does happen, it evokes outrage in everyone."

Both Serrano and Murithi made confessions to police, authorities said. Murithi is alleged to have said he saw the children in the lot behind the Cobras but still told Serrano to shoot. He also is alleged to have said he would have shot at the Cobras if he was the one with the gun.

Murithi most recently held a job as a forklift driver for Home Depot, his attorney said.

Serrano, formerly a West Leyden High School student in the special education program, moved to the city to help his mother, said his attorney Gal Pissetzky.

Sallie could not make it to court Thursday because she was making final arrangements for her daughter's funeral .

Visitation for Schanna will be held from 9 to 11 a.m. Saturday in Armitage Baptist Church, 2451 N. Kedzie Blvd. The funeral, also in the church, will be held from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

Sallie has invited any Chicagoan touched by Schanna's death to attend services Saturday.

"Everybody, everybody who wants to pay their respects to my baby can come," she said.