Man sentenced to life in prison for fatal shooting of 2 men 2020 Chinatown robbery attempt

CHICAGO (WLS) -- The man convicted of a double murder in Chicago's Chinatown has been sentenced to life in prison.

Alvin Thomas was found guilty in November in the shooting deaths of Huayi Bian, 36, and Weizhing Xiong, 38.

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The violent crime happened in a Chinatown parking lot back in 2020 and shocked the community. Bian was a rideshare driver.

Thomas's sentence calls for consecutive life terms, one for each of the killings.

Chicago police said Thomas was taken into custody about 15 minutes after the shooting took place in the early morning hours of Feb. 9, 2020 in the 2000-block of South Wells Street inside an apartment building parking lot.

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Thomas tried to rob two men, Bian and Xiong, and a 44-year-old woman, police said. The woman complied, but the two men resisted, at which point police said Thomas shot and killed the two men. The woman was unharmed.

Police said officers were able to monitor cameras in the area to track Thomas down. Police said he ran about four or five blocks and police said shell casings from the scene matched the gun Thomas has on him.

Police said Thomas had a criminal history, and was on probation for a 2018 robbery and battery in Boystown.