Important note: Information in this article was accurate in 2006. The state of the art may have changed since the publication date.
Chicago Tribune - June 13, 2006
Carlos Sadovi, Tribune staff reporter
Michael L. Jackson, 38, is charged with three counts of murder and one count of aggravated vehicular hijacking for the February 2005 killing of Haroon Paryani, a 61-year-old father of four. Jackson allegedly ran down Paryani with his own cab after quarreling with him over a fare.
Prosecutors will attempt to show that after the quarrel between the two men became physical, Jackson got into Paryani's taxi and ran him over several times after Paryani fell in the street.
Prosecutors would not comment for this story, but they have said that witnesses saw the incident unfold and that one witness cradled Paryani's head after he was run over for the second time. The witness said she was also nearly run over when the car reversed for a third time over the cabdriver, prosecutors have said.
Jackson's lawyers have said that Paryani was the aggressor and that Jackson was defending himself. Court records filed by the lawyers say Paryani has a history of violence, including a battery conviction for attacking a customer. He also had been fined and suspended by the city for violent behavior, according to the filing.
If Jackson is convicted, Criminal Court Judge James Schreier could sentence him to life without parole for the murder charges, said a Cook County state's attorney spokeswoman. The carjacking charge carries a sentence of 6 to 30 years.
Jackson was a policy and communication specialist at the Public Health Department's sexually transmitted disease/HIV/AIDS division. In 1992, he established the Hearts Foundation, a non-profit organization that describes itself as supporting Chicago's gay and lesbian community. Jackson was fired after the arrest.
Jackson, who is HIV positive, has been charged in DuPage County with the reckless assault of a nurse he allegedly spat on. He has also been charged with reckless conduct for allegedly having sexual contact with inmates in the DuPage County Jail without disclosing that he is HIV positive.
The trial is expected to last a week and a half.
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