3 Gang Members 'Executed' Man At His Birthday Party: Prosecutors

CHICAGO — Prosecutors said all three men charged in last month's fatal shooting of an Evanston man outside his own birthday party are members of a street gang that has an ongoing feud with a gang associated with some of the dead man's friends.

Andrew Williams was shot to death outside his home in the 1900 block of Hartrey Avenue on the afternoon of July 26, hours before he was set to turn 30, according to police and prosecutors. Three men were arrested Friday in Chicago and the south suburb of Sauk Village on charges of first-degree murder and appeared before a judge at a bond hearing Sunday.

Ronald Green, 23, of the 1700 block of Central Street in Evanston, and two brothers, 23-year-old Terrence Hooper and 22-year-old Tyree Hooper, both former Evanstonians who now live in Sauk Village, remain held without bond at Cook County Jail ahead of their next court appearance Sept. 3 in Skokie.

According to prosecutors, video and GPS evidence shows the three men gathered in a room the Ramada Inn at 1090 S. Milwaukee Ave. in Wheeling before and after heading to Evanston to kill Williams.

Terrance Hooper drove his own silver Nissan Altima to the scene, although the front license plate was removed and the back plate was obscured, prosecutors said.

All three men charged in the killing also turned off or stopped using their cell phones starting about 10 minutes before the shooting until about 15 minutes after, prosecutors said, presumably in an effort to evade detection.

But investigators pieced together public and private surveillance video to trace the Altima's path to Foster Avenue in Evanston, the judge was told.

Prosecutors said Terrance Hooper parked and waited about a block away while Green and his brother "executed" Williams, who was walking from his home to a friend's car parked out front to pick up some ice for his birthday party.

Witnesses said Green and Tyree Hooper — both wearing face coverings and both later identified as the shooters in photo arrays — walked down Hartrey from Foster and stood on both sides of Williams, bumping the door closed and block him from getting into the car, authorities said.

Both men pulled out handguns with extended magazines and began firing, hitting Williams five times in the neck, torso and arms, prosecutors said. Williams was taken to Evanston Hospital, where he died less than an hour later.

Investigators found one 9mm and six .40 caliber shell casings at the scene of the shooting, prosecutors said. Officers found a .45 caliber handgun underneath the driver's seat of the car Green was driving at the time of his arrest and a .380 caliber handgun down Tyree Hooper's pants when he was arrested.

Prosecutors said all three men have previous interactions with the judicial system, though the younger Hooper's criminal record is limited to juvenile court. Green and Terrance Hooper were both previously convicted of aggravated unlawful use of a weapon and sentenced to 18 months in state prison in connection with a June 2016 incident at an Embassy Suites Hotel where police found several illegal guns, and Green was on parole at the time of the Williams' killing, according to prosecutors.

While on parole in March 2018, Green was arrested again on a charge of unlawful use of a weapon by a felon after he took off running from a traffic stop while carrying a loaded handgun, according to prosecutors. While jailed following that arrest, Green struck an officer by mistake during a fight. He was charged with aggravated battery to police and later pleaded guilty to resisting arrest, prosecutors said. After being sentenced to 30 months in state prison for the firearms charge, Green was released on parole in November 2019, according to the Illinois Department of Corrections.

Williams' homicide was the second fatal shooting in two days and third in a week last month. No charges have been filed in connection with the July 23 shooting death of 20-year-old Brian Carrion, of unincorporated Glenview, near the Howard Street CTA Red Line station or the July 26 killing of 21-year-old Deshawn Turner, of Evanston, in the 2200 block of Emerson Street.

Police described Williams' killing as "possibly retaliatory," though investigators are uncertain whether the two victims had any prior relationship or knew each other at all. According to prosecutors, Green and the Hooper brothers are all members of the same street gang, which has a continuing conflict with a gang affiliated with some of Williams' friends.