Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die – Robert “Yummy” Sandifer

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19th January 2018  •  5 min read

11-year-old Yummy Sandifer lived a violent life and suffered a violent death. He became a symbol of the gang problem in America as well as the fault in the child services and juvenile justice system.


Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die - Robert

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Standing at 4′6″, 11-year-old Robert Sandifer earned the nickname “Yummy” because of his love for cookies. His old bedroom in his grandmother’s house looked like your average Chicago child’s bedroom – posters of Michael Jackson and Disney characters hung on the wall, but Yummy was anything but your average child.

Born in 1983, his mother, Lorina, was arrested over 30 times for prostituting and his father spent most of Yummy’s short life behind bars for various drug and weapon charges. Before the age of 2, he was already known to the Department of Children and Family Services. His body was often riddled in cigarette burns as well as bruises. At just 22 months old, he was brought to the hospital with scratches and bruises.1 

On one occasion, his sister came to the emergency room with burns on her genitals. Lorina claimed she had fallen on the radiator: something the nurse said was impossible due to the severity and position of the injuries. When Yummy was just 3-years-old, he and his six siblings were removed from his drug-addicted mother and sent to live with their grandmother. By the age of 8, Yummy had given up on school and resorted to a life of crime. He soon began to steal cars and break into houses.

During his short life, he was charged with 23 felonies and 5 misdemeanors, but due to his young age, he never got more than a slap on the wrist. It’s no surprise that after running away, Yummy joined a gang – the Black Disciples. “He was the kind of kid who didn’t have love at home. If he did, he wouldn’t have joined a gang,” said one of his friends.

Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die - Robert
Robert “Yummy” Sandifer.

During a psychiatric evaluation, he was described as “emotionally flooded.” The report followed: “His response to the flooding is to back away from demanding situations and act out impulsively and unpredictably.” During the evaluation, Yummy was asked to finish the following sentence: “I am very…” to which he replied: “sick.” The examiner described young Yummy as a child full of self-hate and loneliness.2 

In June of 1994, Yummy was removed from his grandmother’s house and sent to a DCFS juvenile shelter after being caught driving a stolen car. DCFS recommended that he be placed in a long-term facility out of the state because Illinois had no facilities to handle youths of his age. A judge denied a family services request to temporarily hold him in a juvenile centre which holds older offenders and sent him back to live with his grandmother.

On 28 August, 1994, when Yummy was just 11-years-old, he was ordered to take out a hit. He opened fire on a group of youths, accidentally killing 14-year-old Shavon Dean just 10 yards from her South Side home. He had been attempting to kill a rival gang member by spraying bullets across the street. There were numerous witnesses who could name the gunman as 11-year-old Yummy.

Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die - Robert
Shavon Dean.

This enraged the gang, who saw his actions as an initiation gone bad. Fearing that Yummy would speak to police if apprehended, the leaders of the Black Disciples decided they needed to get rid of him.

It was a chilly evening on the 31st of August, when brothers, 14-year-old Derrick Hardaway and 16-year-old Cragg Hardaway, were sent by the gang to find Yummy. They too were members of the Black Disciples. As they drove around in a car, they spotted Yummy standing on his neighbour’s porch at 10609 S. Edbrooke Ave. He had arrived at his neighbour’s house visibly shaken. He asked if they could say a prayer before he handed himself in to police. When the neighbour went inside to make a phone call, the Hardaway brothers lured him over to their car. They told the young boy that they were going to take him into hiding so that police couldn’t track him down. However, as they reached a nearby underpass, they ordered Yummy to his knees and shot him twice in the head.3

Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die - Robert
The underpass where Yummy was shot dead.

Three days later, Yummy’s lifeless and bloody body was found in the underpass under the train tracks at 108th Street between Dauphin and Cottage Grove. He was wearing a sweatshirt with a cartoon character on the front. He was the 637th person murdered that year in Chicago.4 

On the day he should have been starting sixth grade and gallivanting across the playground with other children, Yummy was buried. 400 mourners crowded into the Youth Center Church of God in Christ to say goodbye and reflect on the short life of a boy who had more felony arrests than birthdays.5 In the church, his body lay in a small coffin with a stuffed teddy bear beside him. The only picture of Yummy that the family could find was a mug shot.

Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die - Robert

The Hardaway brothers were both found guilty. Cragg was sentenced to 60 years while Derrick was sentenced to 45 years. While they were the only two ever tried in the case, they both claimed that other members were involved. Yummy’s short and violent life became a symbol of the gang problem in America along with the fault in the child services and juvenile justice system.

Footnotes:

  1. Austin American-Statesman, 2 September, 1994 – “A Murder Suspect at 11”
  2. Times, 24 June, 2001 – Murder in Miniature”
  3. Chicago Tribune, 01 November, 1996 – “Jury Hears: Yummy Knew Too Much”
  4. Chicago Sun-Times, 2 September, 1994 – “He Died the way he Lived”
  5. The Peoria Journal Star, 8 September, 1994 – “Violent Journey of 11-Year-Old Ends in Chicago Cemetery”
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Angel
Angel
6 years ago

Poor little man never stood a chance. This story should be taught in schools across America to show our kids how dangerous gangs are.

Toyya
Toyya
6 years ago
Reply to  Angel

Agreed.

D.B
D.B
3 years ago
Reply to  Angel

It’s generational. The parental guidance was probably never there even for the parents b4 him. Poverty plays a part as well.

Mazikeen Lebron
5 years ago

poor angel it wasnt his fault , never kne wat really lov waz ,rip

Margaret Williams
Margaret Williams
4 years ago

THIS STORY SHOULD BE SHOWN TO YOUNG WOMAN ON WHY NOT TO GET PREGNANT WHILE ON DRUGS

Heather
Heather
3 years ago

Or it shows a huge failure in our legal system to protect children

Jessickah
Jessickah
2 years ago

What does pregnancy have to do with gangs and violence? YOU are a sick fuck

Mike
Mike
1 year ago
Reply to  Jessickah

Tell me dumbass, where do you think all these gang bangers come from?

K M
K M
2 years ago

It has everything to do with everything. Don’t get pregnant and keep the baby if you can’t provide a stable loving environment

Hurr durr
Hurr durr
3 months ago
Reply to  K M

Don’t irresponsibly impregnate someone if you can’t provide.

Mike
Mike
1 year ago

You can’t even write a single coherent sentence.

trackback

[…] Mike (Winter 1995). “Stop the Violence”. Human Ecology Forum. 23 (1) – via Questia. “Too Young to Kill, Too Young to Die – Robert “Yummy” Sandifer • Morbidolo…. January 19, 2018. Papajohn, George (2 September 1994). “Robert: Executed At 11”. […]

Jean Yus
Jean Yus
4 years ago

No parents, no love, no direction, no hope.
Not about skin color or a system. This is about being a human being, being loved and loving your kids. Starts in the home.

Dee
Dee
2 years ago
Reply to  Jean Yus

YES!!!!!

MeMe
MeMe
2 years ago
Reply to  Jean Yus

🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌💔

Jose Pablo Bolanos
Jose Pablo Bolanos
3 years ago

No love or guidance at home? No problem. There’s always the gang.

Oh, and there’s a great catch! You get to blame “the system” for what’s essentially a problem of single mother pregnancy coupled with fatherlessness and – above all – lack of values.

Shondasmith
Shondasmith
2 years ago

Where is yummys mother now

Hurr durr
Hurr durr
3 months ago

Well maybe you men need to get your shit together and start taking care of the children you irresponsibly had

Ranata
Ranata
3 years ago

This is the saddest story I never knew about.

Jessica M Bancroft
Jessica M Bancroft
3 years ago
Reply to  Ranata

This is sad yes. But not as bad as the one i just read bf this. You should look up Robbie Middleton. The 8 yr old kid who was burned alive tied to a tree on his birthday. So disturbing!! Itll make you so mad.

Lesley
Lesley
3 years ago

So sad

linda caposino
linda caposino
3 years ago

pray you are surround with love and peace in a better place….

Elle Blair
Elle Blair
2 years ago

Woah. My country has double the population of Chicago and we had 64 murders last year. That’s insane.

Laura
Laura
2 years ago

This is so sad the poor kid never had a chance 😥

R.mathis
R.mathis
1 year ago
Reply to  Laura

This young man didn’t have a chance and sorry to say but he had no stability in his life…not only was he failed by his family but the system as well.it is insane to think any child could survive under his circumstances. His life ended long before he was murdered…..only because he didn’t have the guidance, support and help that he desperately needed.

CooterII
CooterII
2 years ago

This is clearly the government’s fault. Every time they try to help, they produce results like this. Drug addicted welfare momma . . . It’s not the kid’s fault. He didn’t know any better. Momma’s fault? Well, sure. But she’d never have gotten this far if the government welfare system hadn’t decimated the black nuclear family.

Hurr durr
Hurr durr
3 months ago
Reply to  CooterII

Ah yes , no blame to the men who knocks up women left and right. Always the woman’s fault.

Milly colon
Milly colon
1 year ago

There’s a saying that Children pay for there parents mistakes,and he definitely did I blame the parents cause if they treated him with love and not abused there children he wouldn’t had that life he had and would still be alive..

latoya richardson
latoya richardson
1 year ago

People, People Robert was not the victim. They stole the victim and killed them in his place.

Ene mene minee moe
Ene mene minee moe
1 year ago

What kind of “mentality” would send an 11 yr old kid to do a hit??? Ene menee minee moe, tap a piglet & tell it to go. This is so sad from beginning to end!

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