Develt Bradford, Aldi Shooting Suspect, Found Dead In Jail Cell

Man Charged In Aldi Shooting Found Dead In Lockup

A Chicago man charged in the armed robbery of a South Side Aldi store that left a security guard dead and a customer injured was found dead in lock up early Thursday morning.

Develt Bradford, 52, of the 5300 block of S. Damen Avenue, was charged Wednesday night with first-degree murder and armed robbery in connection with the death of 54-year-old Reginald Lanier and wounding of a 67-year-old female customer, the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

At just after 2 a.m. Thursday, Bradford was found hanged by his pajama-style pants in a Calumet District police station lockup and was pronounced dead on the scene. According to the Sun-Times, lockup staff performed CPR in an attempt to revive the man.

Bradford had been scheduled to appear in bond court Thursday on the murder and robbery charge, in addition to two more counts of armed robbery he faced in connection to another holdup he allegedly carried out at another Aldi, located at 47th Street and Ashland Avenue, on Oct. 28., NBC Chicago reports.

Bradford was reportedly connected to the crimes through a fingerprint match and by being identified in a photo array.

On Nov. 10, two men entered the Aldi grocery store at 9071 S. Halsted Street. One of the men shot Lanier in the head and torso, while the other man got an unspecified amount of money from the store's cashier, the Chicago Tribune reports. A 67-year-old woman was shot in the leg during the robbery.

Lanier was remembered by friends and neighbors as a friendly neighborhood man and avid sports fan, ABC Chicago reports. He is survived by a wife and daughter in college.

The second suspect in the Aldi holdups remains at large.

WATCH a previous news report on the shooting, including surveillance from the incident:

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