Prosecutors say a North Side man murdered a long-time acquaintance in a Rogers Park alley, then returned to the crime scene while cops were still there to recover a phone he left behind. Valgas Etheard, who allegedly brought clothing bearing gunshot residue and the victim’s blood with him on his phone quest, was ordered detained by Judge John Hock on a count of first-degree murder.
According to prosecutors, Etheard and the victim, Terrell Fort, both 32, had known each other since they were teenagers. In July 2010, Fort allegedly shot Etheard, but the case was never prosecuted because Etheard declined to press charges, officials said. The two crossed paths for the last time on September 5, 2024, outside a restaurant near Howard Street and Damen Avenue.
Surveillance footage allegedly shows Etheard standing outside the restaurant when Fort entered the business around 5:35 p.m., then walked back out. Etheard followed him, prosecutors said in a detention filing. For the next several minutes, a distant camera recorded both men in the alley behind the 2000 block of West Howard Street, entering and exiting the frame. Prosecutors said the video showed Etheard raising his arm to chest level just before Fort collapsed to the ground.
A witness reported hearing a single gunshot, then seeing a man with dreadlocks bending over another man who was lying motionless. Another witness saw a man wearing a white shirt, dark jeans, and a black hat with dreadlocks leave the alley, adjusting his waistband as he walked north on Damen…