Justice for Charles Baird, who was shot and killed outside a New Lenox gas station in 2020, will be delayed for a month.

Post-trial motions and sentencing for the now 21-year-old Harvey man who was convicted in Baird’s murder were continued Wednesday in Will County Circuit Court so the defense team could review documents with their client, public defender Samantha Kerins said.

Will County Judge Amy Bertani-Tomczak set a new date for post-trial motions and sentencing for June 24.

On March 19, Bertani-Tomczak found the defendant, who was 16 at the time of the shooting, guilty of two counts of first-degree murder. Because the defendant was a juvenile when first charged, the Daily Southtown isn’t naming him.

Baird’s mother, Jennifer Baird posted to social media Tuesday asking the New Lenox community for prayers during the sentencing process and expressing hope her son’s killer receives a long sentence. In the post to a New Lenox community page, she asked for prayers and strength to read her victim impact statement and be strong for her family.

“Thank you all for allowing me to share his story, gone but never forgotten,” Jennifer Baird wrote. “Thank you for all the support the last five years, they have been rough for my family. Justice for Charlie!”

Charles Baird, 19, was shot outside the New Lenox Circle K gas station five years ago while trying to run from the gunman.

Baird, who was a regular customer, parked at a gas pump shortly before midnight and entered the store.

Meanwhile, the store manager noticed a black SUV, that had been stolen from Lockport two days prior, driving around the parking lot and eventually stopping at a gas pump across from Baird’s car.

Someone got out of the SUV and tried the door handle on Baird’s car, the store manager testified.

As Baird left the store, he was approached by one of the people in the SUV. Baird tried to run back into the store, but was shot in the back, according to court testimony.

Baird died three days later.

The defendant’s DNA was found on a cigarette butt in the back of the black SUV, according to testimony presented in a six-day bench trial.

A man serving a five-year sentence at the Illinois Department of Corrections for unlawful use of a weapon testified he saw the defendant shoot Baird in the back as Baird attempted to run back into the store. Security footage from the gas station captured the shooter running with a distinctive stride, prosecutors said during the trial.

The defense attorneys filed a motion asking the judge to reconsider the guilty verdict or grant a new trial.

Baird, a Lincoln-Way West High School graduate, worked as a cook at Red Robin in Orland Park at the time of his death.

He was pursuing a career in culinary arts and had an “infectious smile and personality,” according to his obituary.

Michelle Mullins is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.