Robert Sandifer

Robert Sandifer
Born	(1983-03-12)March 12, 1983 Chicago, Illinois
Died	September 1, 1994(1994-09-01) (aged 11) Chicago, Illinois
Occupation	Gangster (Gangster Disciples)
Criminal charge	murder, arson, armed robbery, drug possession
Criminal penalty	Probation
Criminal status	Deceased

Robert "Yummy" Sandifer (March 12, 1983 — September 1, 1994) was an American gang member whose murder by fellow gang members in Chicago, Illinois garnered national attention.^[1][2][3][4] He appeared on the cover of TIME magazine in September 1994.^[5]

Nicknamed Yummy because of his love of junk food, Sandifer was a young member of the street gang the Black Disciples. After committing murder, arson and armed robbery, he was executed by fellow gang members who feared he could become an informant. Coverage of Sandifer's death and retrospectives on his short, violent life were widely published in the American media. Sandifer became a symbol of the gang problem in American inner cities, the failure of social safety netting, and the shortcomings of the juvenile justice system.

Early life

Robert Sandifer was born on March 12, 1983. Sandifer's mother, Lorina Sandifer, had a history of over 30 misdemeanor arrests, many of which were drug related. Sandifer's father, Robert Akins, was absent for all of Sandifer's life due to incarceration. Sandifer was, according to child welfare authorities, severely mistreated and neglected. Before he was 3, Sandifer was already known to Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). Sandifer was alleged to have had cigarette burns on his arms and neck as well as linear bruising consistent with physical beatings. In 1986, Sandifer and his siblings were removed from his mother's home by DCFS and were sent to live with their grandmother. His grandmother's residence contained as many as 19 children on some occasions. By most accounts, his grandmother's home was not much better than Sandifer's previous home. Sandifer, by the age 8, quit attending school and began to roam the streets stealing cars and breaking into houses. In 1993, Sandifer and his siblings were removed from his grandmother's home and were sent to the Lawrence Hall DCFS shelter on Chicago's north side, from which Sandifer ran away and never returned. From 1993 until his death, Sandifer's whereabouts and living arrangements remain unclear, although he continued to be arrested by the authorities.^[6]

Criminal behavior

Yummy was known for bullying and extorting money from local children and the community in the Chicago neighborhood of Roseland. He liked luxury cars such as Lincoln and Cadillac and, remarkably, was able to drive them despite his small stature. Many of his 23 felonies and 5 misdemeanors were committed in the course of running errands for street gangs. The penal system had no way to keep him out of trouble and the courts were helpless to lock him away because he was too young for juvenile detention and too dangerous to be placed with children his age.

Death

On August 28, 1994, Sandifer began harassing locals from his neighborhood. He opened fire several times with a 9 millimeter semiautomatic pistol, striking several youths. Sandifer quickly fled the scene. Shavon Dean, age 14, later died from her gunshot wounds. The crime spree made national headlines. The nation was shocked by the brutality of the crime and the fact that the alleged perpetrator was only 11 years old. The Chicago Police began a manhunt for Sandifer. According to Sgt. Ronald Palmer, of the Chicago Police, Sandifer's actions were a gang initiation gone wrong. On, Wednesday, August 31, while still in hiding, Sandifer was met by brothers Cragg and Derrick Hardaway, ages 16 and 14, members of the Black Disciples street gang. Sandifer was told he was being taken some place safe and ordered into a waiting car. Instead, he was brought to an viaduct underpass and told to get on his knees. While on his knees, he was shot twice in the back of his head by Cragg and Derrick Hardaway.^[7] Sandifer's body was discovered by the Chicago Police Department in the early morning of September 1. Both Cragg and Derrick Hardaway were later convicted of Sandifer's murder.^[8] Sandifer's funeral was held at the Youth Center Church of God in Christ in Chicago's Northwest Side. ^[9]

External links

• Kirby, Joseph A. (October 13, 1992). "The death of Dantrell Davis". Chicago Tribune. "..But the cycle of violence became, if anything, more appalling. In 1994, Robert "Yummy" Sandifer, an 11-year-old gang member, killed a girl, 14.." 
• Miller, John (January 21, 2011). "True Crime: The Forgotten Story of Robert "Yummy" Sandifer". The Washington Syndicate. Retrieved September 15, 2013. 
• Cohen, Sharon (December 18, 2007). "Locked up at 14 for an infamous murder, living with regrets and dreaming of a future". StarNews online. Retrieved September 15, 2013. 

Notes and references