Trial beginning for man who allegedly was with 13-year-old Adam Toledo on morning teen was fatally shot by police officer

A man who prosecutors say was with 13-year-old Adam Toledo on the morning the teen was slain was facing trial Wednesday on weapons charges, a proceeding poised to offer further glimpses into the early morning hours during which Toledo was shot and killed by a Chicago police officer.

Ruben Roman, 23, is charged with three felony counts of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and one felony count of recklessly discharging a firearm, charges that are not related to Toledo’s death but rather stem from his alleged actions while he was with the teen just before the shooting. He is proceeding with a bench trial before Cook County Judge Charles Burns, meaning the judge, not a jury, will render a verdict.

Toledo’s shooting roiled the city, spurring protests and calls for reform to the Chicago Police Department’s foot pursuit policy, particularly after body-worn camera and surveillance footage of his death was made public. The video, released by the Civilian Office of Police Accountability which investigates police shootings, showed Toledo tossing a gun behind a fence before he was fatally shot by Officer Eric Stillman.

He was one of the youngest people shot and killed by Chicago police in recent years.

Prosecutors say Roman was with Toledo on March 29, 2021 before he was shot, and they allege Roman fired the gun, bringing police to the area near 2400 block of South Sawyer Avenue in Little Village.

Around 2:30 a.m., Roman can be seen on camera footage walking with Toledo when Roman fired seven or eight shots as a vehicle drove by before the two ran away, prosecutors alleged at a bond hearing last year. The gunfire was detected by ShotSpotter technology and two police officers arrived on scene, prosecutors said.

Police chased Roman and Toledo and tackled Roman while the teen kept running, according to prosecutors. They have alleged that Roman dropped a pair of red gloves that tested positive for gunshot residue.

Police continued to pursue Toledo, who was shot by Stillman after he tossed the gun and turned toward the officer raising his hands, according to the video. When announcing her office would not charge Stillman, Cook County State’s Attorney Kim Foxx said the actions happened “almost simultaneously.”

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Prosecutors initially sought to charge Roman with a felony count of child endangerment, a charge that would have directly tied him to the 13-year-old’s death. The charge, though, was absent when Roman was indicted.

Defense attorneys at the time said Roman did not have a role in the teen’s killing, with an assistant public defender arguing at his bail hearing in 2021 that Toledo “is dead at the hand of the Chicago police officers, not my client.”

Later, Foxx said her office ultimately determined the evidence did not support bringing child-endangerment charges against Roman.

“Essentially, the actions of Mr. Roman were not the reasons for Adam Toledo’s death,” she said.

The police department’s policy on foot pursuits came under scrutiny after the shooting of Toledo and others, including from the independent monitor reviewing CPD’s progress in complying with a sweeping consent decree that orders reforms.

The department released its final, revised foot pursuit policy earlier this year.

mabuckley@chicagotribune.com