Posts Tagged Chicago Fire Department Lt. Dwain Williams

Chicago Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from nbc5chicago.com:

Separate juries on Wednesday found Devin Barron and Jaylen Saulsberry guilty of first-degree murder in the shooting of retired Chicago FD Lieutenant Dwain Williams, who Cook County prosecutors said was confronted at gunpoint by a carjacking crew in December 2020 as he left a gourmet popcorn shop.

The jury in Barron’s trial returned their verdict about five hours after deliberations began and immediately after the jury in Saulsberry’s trial retired to begin their own discussions. It took less than two hours for the second panel to reach its decision.

When their trials began last week, there were three defendants and three separate juries.

But in a surprise on Tuesday, the third co-defendant, Dwain Johnson, took the stand to testify against Barron and Saulsberry after Johnson accepted a plea offer from the state’s attorney’s office mid-trial that saw his murder charge reduced.

Johnson, 20, pleaded guilty to a count of aggravated battery with a firearm, according to court records. Prosecutors said they would seek the maximum 30-year sentence against him.

A fourth defendant, a teenage boy who was 15 at the time of Williams’ death, had his case adjudicated in juvenile court and also testified against Barron and Saulsberry. Prosecutors said he was back in school and had stayed out of trouble.

All four were part of a carjacking crew that targeted Williams’ Jeep Grand Cherokee SUV after they spotted it while driving.

With the 15-year-old behind the wheel of a stolen Ford Fusion sedan, the crew trailed Williams until he parked outside a store and then waited for him to return.

Barron and Saulsberry got out of the stolen Ford with guns drawn and confronted Williams as he returned to his Jeep.

Williams, a concealed-carry holder, drew his own gun and exchanged fire with the crew before they fled. Williams was shot in the abdomen and died a short time later.

Investigators were able to track the group using cellphone data and surveillance footage.

DNA evidence implicating Saulsberry was recovered from a shoe that one of the gunmen left behind as he fled, and a fingerprint on a granola bar found in the back seat of the Ford when it was recovered in Tinley Park matched Barron’s, prosecutors said.

Attorneys for both defendants spent much of their closing arguments Wednesday assailing the integrity and reliability of testimony by the teenager and Johnson.

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Chicago Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from fox32chicago.com:

A criminal trial got underway Monday for three men accused of shooting and killing a longtime Chicago firefighter during a bungled carjacking, and one of the members of the alleged carjacking ring is now testifying against the others.

The family of retired Firefighter Dwain Williams walked solemnly through the Leighton Criminal Courthouse on the first day of his alleged killers’ trial. The 65-year-old Williams was a retired Lieutenant with the Chicago Fire Department who was just about to go back to the work for the city of Chicago at the Office of Emergency Management.

Now, standing trial for his murder are Devin Barron, Dwain Johnson, and Jaleyn Saulsberry — each charged with first-degree homicide.

The star witness for prosecutors is 18-year-old David Williams, who was part of that carjacking crew. Williams was just 15 at the time and was charged as a juvenile. He agreed to testify against the others after serving six months in a juvenile detention center.

Williams told jurors that he and the defendants committed multiple carjackings together, and targeted Lt. Williams when they saw his car at a gas station a couple blocks away.

The late firefighter’s family became emotional when prosecutors played the surveillance video of his shooting, some hurrying out of the courtroom in tears.

The courtroom is filled to capacity because there are three separate juries, one for each defendant. The trial is expected to continue until at least the middle of next week.

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Chicago Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from chicago.cbslocal.com:

Retired Chicago Fire Lt. Dwain Williams was murdered in an attempted carjacking in late 2020, and on Saturday, he was commemorated with an honorary street name.

Loved ones, colleagues, friends, neighbors, and the mayor were present for the unveiling of four signs at the each corner of 95th and Peoria streets in Chicago’s Washington Heights neighborhood. The corner now has the honorary designation of Lt. Dwain P. Williams Way.

On Dec. 3, 2020, Williams, was leaving his a store at 11758 S. Western Ave. in Morgan Park when a stolen four-door dark-colored sedan pulled up and four males got out and bum rushed him. The carjackers fired at Williams who returned fire with his legally-possessed weapon. Williams was shot in the abdomen and was later pronounced dead at Advocate Christ Medical Center in Oak Lawn.  Four people that were part of a carjacking ring have been charged with his murder. 

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Chicago Fire Department news (more)

Excerpts from Chicago.cbslocal.com:

Chicago aldermen and Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Wednesday paid tribute to retired Chicago Fire Department Lt. Dwain Williams, who was gunned down last month during a carjacking attempt in Morgan Park. Four people have been charged with his murder.

Lightfoot, who attended Williams’ funeral, said she was particularly moved by his nephew, who said that if the four young men who tried to steal Williams’ car had given him just five minutes, “he would have talked them out of the actions that they were taking that day,” and even offered to mentor them. 

Williams’ eldest daughter, Tarmarcea Humphrey, said the family has started a charitable foundation in his honor, and that Williams’ family is praying not only for other families, but for the four young men now charged with his murder.

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